Blood in the Water
by Abyss the Hedgehog
Summary: A student from faraway with mysterious powers, admitted into U.A through a recommendation exam. A castle in the snow, left to rot. A city of blood, caught up in its own madness. And a simple lizard girl from Saitama that doesn't yet realize what all this means. Setsuna-centric (thus 1B-centric) crossover with Bloodborne, because I hate myself apparently.
1. White Marble

The first thing that was striking about that girl, at least in Setsuna's mind, was how fucking tall she was.

Granted, this was U.A's recommendation exam. If there was one place where people like her would show up, it would probably probably be here. The boys's part apparently had Endeavor's son and some guy who almost totaled the race track with his tornadoes, so…

...she had to be a foreigner. The features were very much like the ones seen on Hollywood actors and the like, but much more… what was the right word here? Marbly? Probably not it. If someone however told Setsuna that this giant girl – towering over every other participant with her mane of ashen white hair and a still gaze of faded blue eyes, like that of a tranquil sea – was sculpted out of stone, out of pretty white marble, she'd be willing to believe them.

Alright, she could gawk at her incredibly hot schoolmates later. There was a test to be won. "ALRIGHT, LISTENERS! HOPE Y'ALL READY FOR A RUN OF EPIC PROPORTIONS!" Note: gawking at your favorite pros was probably not recommended, but _holy shit Present Mic in the flesh_. "I AM PLEASED TO HAVE THIS AMAZING AUDIENCE! GET READY TO RUN!"

The written part of the exam was one thing, but now awaited a bigger challenge: an obstacle course over the length of three kilometers. Quirk usage well permitted. Setsuna rolled her shoulder with a sigh. On that field, she was going to lag behind a little bit. She prided herself on her overall form, but that was before her classmates could launch themselves hundreds of meters forward with their flashy powers. Apparently Endeavor Jr. and Tornado Guy cleared their course in a matter of seconds.

Less thinking, more running. "TAKE YOUR PLACES! ON MY MARK…!" And then they were out, racing forward at breakneck pace. The rich girl with an updo ponytail – she arrived here in a limo, for crying out loud – was the one who wasn't running; hers was a more ingenious method by using a… skateboard? When the hell… _less thinking, more running_.

The first obstacle was a sandpit to jump over. Easy enough. The white marble girl cleared it first with a graceful leap and legs for days. Setsuna was right behind her, separating into a bunch of parts to avoid jumping entirely. The rich girl chose to pole vault the damn thing. Where did she get the pole? _Why was she running with her hoodie open?_ Questions for later. Others lagged behind almost immediately. The lizard prodigy couldn't help but chuckle. She knew this would be tough, and prepared accordingly. It seemed so did the other two.

The second obstacle: a length of monkey bars over a body of water. Another one Setsuna could just cheat through, much to her delight. So could the rich girl – now she was using her momentum to propel herself through the water on a surfboard. The white marble girl chose to go for it the old-fashioned way, clearing two bars with each movement. She ended up third, trailing just behind Setsuna and the rich girl. Much to the lizard's dismay, those long legs to die for made a lot of difference. At the third obstacle they were all going neck-in-neck, seemingly energized by the spirit of competition.

The last obstacle: ball shooters. A softball passed right before Setsuna's nose. An inch further and she would probably go home purple in the face. She opted to simply detach her head and make it float above the shooters's effective range, propelling the rest of her body forward. Such remote control was still something she was working on, but the run here was as straightforward as it could be.

The rich girl used shields now, two sets of heavy European plates to keep her head and upper body safe, though at the cost of some speed. Speaking of her upper body, wow. Like, _wow_. She lost her hoodie somewhere along the way, so now Setsuna could see how her Quirk worked – she simply conjured items from her body. Talk about a blessing. Well, blessings. Holy shit, were those even real-wait, don't get distracted.

The white marble girl, meanwhile, simply bulldozed through the ball shooters. One of them hit her directly in the neck with such power Setsuna's first instinct was to feel her own. Nothing. She didn't even flinch, didn't make any sound. There was no way to catch her now. There was no way to catch the rich girl either – she switched back to a skateboard immediately once out of range of the balls. Setsuna bit her lip as her head reattached and then surged forward in one final attempt to catch up with them.

She finished third, whole two seconds after the rich girl and three and a half after the white marble, collapsing behind a finish line and struggling to find her breath. Oh fuck, oh shit, that was the hardest she ever pushed herself… and still only third. That was just U.A for you – the cream of the crop as far as Hero Schools went.

"Are you alright, Tokage-san?" The soft voice must have been the rich girl's. She blindly took the hand offered, now able to appreciate the upper class beauty in front of her. Oh goodness, if she wasn't struggling to not black out from sheer exhaustion right now, she'd already have like six pick-up lines available.

"I think I jus'… need a breather… or seven..." She mumbled. "You guys… are amazin'..."

"Oh no, it's nothing special. I just made sure to prepare, is all." Setsuna would probably be angrier with the booby angel propping her up at this word choice if her entire life wasn't flashing before her eyes right now. "Your Quirk is quite amazing, if I may say so myself."

"Heh… oh… sugar honey ice tea..." And then she slumped in the rich girl's grip as consciousness left her.

* * *

She awoke in an infirmary bed with a startled gasp.

"Awake already?" The elderly voice came from behind a curtain, revealing a tiny grandma in a white labcoat. Setsuna stared blankly. "It's not even a first day of school and I'm already getting customers."

"...oh, uh… I blacked out?"

"You did." Well, talk about an embarrassing first impression. "I appreciate the effort you put in the recommendation exam, but try not to make it a habit." ...wait, a habit? Setsuna stared even more blankly. The tiny grandma – Recovery Girl, U.A's school nurse – presented a tiny envelope marked with the school's emblem. "I've been authorized to give you this once you come to."

"...ma'am, are you s-saying that… I made it?"

"Fifth and last to make it, yes." ...okay, Endeavor Jr. and Tornado Guy probably took the first two spots, but… did that mean Honenuki didn't make it? That would be a shame. They went to the exam together and all that. "If you are wondering about the details, Young Inasa declined the spot in class for personal reasons. U.A normally only accepts four recommended students in total, but your performances were quite spectacular, if I may say so myself."

"...even in spite of me blacking out like a wuss?"

"Yes."

"Can I voice my extreme joy at my admission?"

"Once I sign you out of the infirmary, yes."

* * *

"HONENUKI I MADE IT!"

The skull-faced boy had just enough time to catch a flying childhood friend giggling and squeeing right into his arms. Three merry-go-rounds later Setsuna dropped off, still bouncing in excitement – and just now realizing that Honenuki wasn't on his own. She recognized both the rich girl – Yaoyorozu, was her name – and the white marble girl, standing a little aside from the group.

"Congrats—"

"Oh my god, but I almost didn't! I don't know whether to punch or to kiss that Inasa bloke, honestly!"

"Why not just say "thank you"?" Yaoyorozu suggested, the slight change in her face suggesting that she didn't get Setsuna's struggle with the conundrum. The lizard prodigy pouted.

"I wanted to get in on my own merits, not because he left at the drop of the hat."

"Funny you mention that, apparently he's going to Shiketsu." Honenuki shrugged. "He and Todoroki butted heads for a bit."

"Oh yeah, where's the Lil'deavor?"

"He left as soon as the results came in. A real stick in the mud, honestly." Setsuna grinned. "...oh come on, Tokage, it's a figure of speech—"

"Yeah, good we didn't muddy it up~"

"Godfuckingdamnit, I walked into that one. Uh, sorry, Yaoyorozu."

"Oh no, it's quite alright. I… am having a bit of a trouble processing your conversation with Tokage-san, is all." The white marble girl was silent, eyes idly looking up at the twilight. Maybe she was just shy? Who knew?

"So, what's with the group up?"

"I figured that we can all grab a bite or something, to celebrate us getting into U.A. and all that. Asked Inasa about it, but he said he couldn't possibly join us since he didn't qualify." Setsuna raised an eyebrow.

"I think that's a splendid idea. Even if we do not end up in the same class together, socializing like that can go the long way." Yaoyorozu nodded with a smile. The lizard prodigy stared at the angelic being in front of her before Honenuki elbowed her in the ribs with a chuckle. "Do you have somewhere in mind?"

"Well, there's McDonalds's nearby, if you feel like having a go at American food."

* * *

"Can I ask you a question, Maria-san?"

The ashen-haired giantess was identified as Maria Muradasilova, half-Russian, half-German, with a hint of Finnish ancestry. Much to her embarrassment, Setsuna had no idea where Finland even was. Maria spoke little, in no small part thanks to her flimsy grasp of Japanese, taking dainty bites out of her dish of choice.

...how did you even spell Muradasilova? _**"Yes?" **_Another reason why, at least in Tokage's mind, she must have spoken so little was due to self-awareness how weak her voice made other people's knees. Yeeeesh. Between her, Yaomomo – a cute nickname Setsuna thought up on a spot, much to Yaoyorozu's flushed embarrassment – and any other classmates she had yet to meet, this was shaping up to be… uh, an interesting three years.

"Why did you not use your Quirk during the test?"

"She didn't?" Honenuki raised an eyebrow. Maria's face was still as she wiped the corners of her mouth with a provided piece of paper. "Wait, how can you tell, Yaoyorozu?"

"Quirk usage takes energy of the user most of the time. I have learned to sense the subtle airshifts that occur during usage. As we remained quite even for most of the race, sensing them was not an issue."

"...huh. Didn't know that was a thing." Quirks without a perceptible effect were rare. Even those with low output and a niche function had some kind of visual representation in how they affected the user or the environment around them. Could Maria have one such Quirk?

The white marble shook her head. _**"Forlorn Quirk." **_The other three stared at the foreigner, trying to make sense of that cryptic message.

"...do you dislike using it?" Setsuna suggested with a frown. Their eyes met, and it took her all of her willpower to not have her face redden like a Christmas light. And yet, despite the direct eye contact, it didn't seem like they were actually looking at each other. The white marble wasn't blind, but it seemed like she was gazing somewhere else, an imperceptible void ahead.

"_**Yes." **_Maria's eyes left Setsuna's face as she focused on her burger. **_"Great curse._**"

"...to think of your Quirk as a curse..." Yaoyorozu seemed sympathetic, but unsure what to do. "I am sorry this befell you."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Honenuki offered a smile of his own. "There are some weird Quirks out there, but it's not like you can't use them for good. I mean, I can soften things. Seems innocuous enough, but you know what they say about creativity."

"Oh, or what about Best Jeanist?" Setsuna suggested, trying to get back into the spirit of things. "Fiber control means he can do literally anything with anything."

"Is that right? I thought he can only control cloth fibers." Yaoyorozu tilted her head slightly.

"Nope. _All_ fibers. I saw him stop an entire collapsing building by manipulating the foundation~"

"So yeah. Don't worry about it, Mura" Honenuki stopped, clicking his tongue. "Da-shi-ro-wa. Ain't no Quirk that defines you. It's the other way around."

"_**You think so?"**_ The other recommended students nodded resolutely. Maria's face was still for a moment before she smiled. Setsuna shuddered despite herself. Something about that smile was both completely captivating and absolutely terrifying at the same time. _**"Maybe, but not mine."**_

* * *

"...hey, Juzo?" Honenuki craned his neck to look at Setsuna. After saying their goodbyes with Muradasilova and Yaoyorozu, the two of them were taking the same train home. His childhood friend was awfully quiet. It seemed that the other two recommended students had left quite an impression on her. "I think I'm in gay hell."

"What, that bad?"

"Whatever god sculpted Yaomomo, he must have beat off to it." Honenuki was thankful there was nobody else sitting nearby, or they would be getting weird looks already. "...and whatever god sculpted Maria, he must have been terrified of her sheer greatness."

"We haven't even met our classmates yet." Setsuna groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"_I know_. I'm a woman dying of thirst, though..." Levity gone, the lizard girl was back to looking uncharacteristically sullen again. "...I keep thinking of what she said about her Quirk."

"How it's cursed?"

"...yeah. I wonder what happened that she'd even think that. Honestly, if she just said something like "there was no need to use it" or something—"

"—then you'd think she's an arrogant stuck-up."

"Oh god, I would. Sounds a lot like Lil'deavor."

"I don't know if this is the most clever or the stupidest nickname you've ever come up with." Brief silence. "...well… I'm glad we both got in. Here's hoping we can end in the same class."

"Word. Oh, that's my stop." Shaking out the bad thoughts, Setsuna stood up and marched over to the door with a brisk step. "Tokage of the Brotherhood of Gays, sounding off."

"I should record you one day." Honenuki rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "I'd have blackmail material for days."

"No you wouldn't, 'cause you love me~"

"Alright, alright." The doors opened. "Hey, Setsuna!" The lizard girl turned over to see Honenuki raising his fist slightly with a grin. "To our heroics." She grinned back and returned the gesture.

"To them."

* * *

Japan felt… peaceful.

It was a stark contrast from the last few years of her life. Frankly, she was having a hard time adjusting, and not just because of the language barrier. That seemed easy enough to cross.

It was simply weird living in a world so disconnected from the old one. In a world past dreams, far away from the ruins of Cainhurst… far away from the ruins of Yharnam… far away from everything that once defined her. Now, under the guidance of one of Master Gehrman's apprentices, she was to begin again.

Maria sighed, looking at the peaceful sea, before opening her journal and beginning to write. No doubt Adeline wanted to hear from her...

* * *

**Lady**** Maria Muradasilova of House Cainhurst, Clocktower Crest. Quirk: Blood Manipulation! She can alter the properties of her blood, both inside and outside of her!**

* * *

**So I don't know where I'm going with this, honestly, but here we are. A big fic in the making, that I'll likely never finish like it happens with most of my big fics.**

**...but here we are. MHA ideas keep popping in my head, crossovers included, and so we now have this one. Remember Lady Maria "Visceral Me" of the Astral Clocktower? Let's reimagine her into an U.A. student. Why is it Setsuna-centric? I figured an easy way to insert a strange foreign student into the setting would be through recommendation (Vlad King's, more on that later). Why Setsuna, specifically? I don't even know, man. Lizard memergy is too strong.**

**All of this was frankly written on an impulse, so hopefully you can stand this semi-stream of consciousness. c:**


	2. No Villainous Quirk

"Forty eight… forty nine… and fifty~"

Today was the big day. _The_ day. Her day. Today, Setsuna began her course on heroics. Raising up from her sit-ups and wiping the brow off sweat with a soft sigh, she looked at her new school uniform, just ready to be put on. "Look out, world. Tokage is on the rise~"

One goodbye to her pet geckos and then one to her parents later, she was on her way, stepping with a lively bounce. It was still a little unreal to think about. Here she was, strolling over to the best Hero School in Japan as if it was just another boring day in junior high. The train was packed with people, friends and strangers alike. She made some small talk with her friends from junior high, all of them heading for different schools. Lots of encouragement was had. No sight of Honenuki though… did he decide to choose an earlier train? Hopefully his plan wasn't to oversleep on the very first day of school. Them recommendation students had to be held to higher standards.

"Out of my way, extra." A gruff voice reached her before a boy in a matching uniform – with sandy blond hair and a confrontational look, yikes – passed by. She wasn't even in the way, so he probably said it just to act tough. Talk about a terrible attitude. She should know better than to talk back to him though—

"The only guy acting extra is you, buddy." ...ah, cripes. The boy turned to look at her with a thundering look of someone this close to snapping and going on a murder spree. A real charmer. "...what? Just saying like it is."

"You want to go? I'll put you in the fucking ground."

"Scary stuff. You kiss your mom with that mouth?" Setsuna had a bad habit of speaking before she thought much of it. The blond jerk's eyes were this close to bugging out from sheer indignation. Finally, deciding that starting a fight on the first day of school might not have been the smartest thing in the world, he turned back on his heel and stomped off towards the gate. "Wow, what a douche."

"I HEARD THAT, SNAKE LADY!"

"It's Lizard Lady, thanks much!" ...well, she just made her very first enemy in U.A. long before she even started any education. "...good going, Tokage, just torpedo yourself from day one..."

* * *

Fortunately, the blond jerk was not a part of her class.

"Hey, Tokage! Over here." Honenuki called her from his seat, already set up with bare necessities. Most of the class seemed to be present already, currently chatting between each other, looking vaguely ominous – what was it with blond boys in this school? – or trying to make themselves look smaller. Aw. That mushroom girl was cute. No sign of the white marble though…

"Sup, softboy?" He rolled his eyes with a groan, accompanied by another guy's brief chuckle. "Hope I'm not late."

"Nah, made it just fine. Dunno if you've heard, but Muradasilova will be a part of our class."

"...what kind of fucking name is that?" The boy from earlier, with spiky hair and a headband, looked incredulous. "So we've got three foreigners?"

"Three? Oh yeah, hey there, name's Tokage. Cool headband."

"Awase, and likewise. But yeah, there's Pony over there" Awase pointed towards a big-eyed blonde with two prominent horns – at least this one didn't seem like a jerk. "and Rin there." Next he pointed at a serious-looking brunet with a braid. "But yeah, Murawhat?"

"She's half-German, half-Russian." Awase stared at Honenuki imparting wisdom about his fellow recommended student as if he was a talking manferret instead. "And has Finnish ancestry."

"...what the shit is Finnish?" Unfortunately for him, there was no more time for socialization: their homeroom teacher made his way in. Maria was right behind him, forced to bend slightly as she entered the classroom. "...oh… that the shit..."

"Alright, class, take your seats." Sekijiro Kan, better known as Vlad King, announced. Before the white marble left for her seat – in the far left corner in the back – she and him conversed briefly in some unknown language. She left for her place soon after, attracting stares from their entire classroom. No small wonder – not only she wore a boy's uniform, likely because there were no sizes to accommodate her, well, size; but she _rocked_ it.

"Don't let your eyes pop out, Tokage." Honenuki whispered with a grin, almost making her jump in her seat. Setsuna shot him a dirty look.

"I am pleased to welcome you in U.A Hero School. My name is Sekijiro Kan. Some of you may know me better as Vlad King." Their homeroom teacher introduced himself. "I will be your class's homeroom teacher for these three years. Before we begin, I would like to say one thing: you all came here from various walks of life, but with a single purpose: to become a someone who protects the weak, saves lives, and upholds justice. Whether you think of being a hero as a job, a calling or a duty, never forget to hold yourselves to these lofty ideals."

"No Quirk is villainous or inappropriate for hero work, though some may make your progress easier than the others." A moment of silence. "It is entirely up to you to refine yourselves and, with our guidance, emerge into the world as its pillars. That is all." Everyone was still silent. "I… do apologize. I am still a little unused to this entire thing myself."

"Teacher is good!" The two-horned girl – Pony, Setsuna recalled her name was – called out resolutely, in an extremely thick American accent. "We believe!"

"...your faith is appreciated." For a moment the class was mired in awkward silence. Mr. Kan cleared his throat. "Either way, I would like for every one of you to come up to the stand and introduce themselves to the class, Quirk and all. Let's start with the first row on the right." Oh, so Maria would introduce herself last. That made sense, given the language barrier. The first to go was a redhair with a ponytail, stepping up lively with distinct tomboyish energy.

"My name is Itsuka Kendo. I hope all of us can get along just fine." She smiled pleasantly. "My Quirk lets me enlarge my hands. I know it's not very flashy, but it suits me just fine." After Kendo went others.

"Name's Kaibara, pleased to meet you. My Quirk lets me rotate my body parts."

"S-s-shoda. I, uh… I hope you won't mind be being around. I can apply extra oomph to a b-blow with my Quirk… er, kinda sorta."

"Manga Fukidashi. I've a speech bubble for a head." A brief chuckle from the class. "I can make onomatopoeias with special effects."

"Kamakiri. Am here to be the most badass of badasses. I can grow blades on me."

"Kodai. I can shrink or grow stuff."

K-k-k-kinoko… um, Komori." Aw, poor her. Setsuna's protective instincts flared in full force. "I, um… I w-want to be an I-Idol Hero, a-actually… I can, um, grow mushrooms… b-but I have mush to learn on t-that..." ...did she just…?

"Tsuburaba's the name, memes are my game. Quality pun right there, Komori." The mushroom girl squeaked and blushed red. "Pleased to meet ya all. I can blow air barriers."

"Rin Hiryu. I, uh, I'm from China, so please don't freak out if I start muttering nonsense. My Quirk lets me grow scales on my body. They come in handy for offense and defense both." Oh hey, a fellow lizard.

"Bondo. Hi everyone. I can make glue. Well, uh, it comes from these." The giant pointed at his unusual face and the multiple holes in it.

...oh shit, it was her turn. Setsuna made her way to the front. "Hey everyone, Setsuna Tokage. Pleased to meet you. I can do this~" She gestured towards her left hand… and then let it detach with a dry "pop". "Breaking down is my specialty~" There were more than a few incredulous looks being cast her way.

"Please refrain from Quirk usage in class." Mr. Kan spoke with a sigh. The hand reattached no problem, with her owner not at all worse for wear. "Next."

"Awase, hey there. I can weld stuff together, living or not."

"Pleased to meet you, classmates. I'm Neito Monoma." The ominous-looking blond introduced himself with a dramatic flourish. Alright, Entrance Jerk this was not. "I've intentions of making my class greater than all others. I hope we can work together to that goal. As for my Quirk, I am able to copy other people's Quirks for usage." That got the class to erupt in chatter, and not all of it seemed very supportive. Setsuna could kind of see why. To Monoma's credit, he was taking all this in stride.

"Alright, settle down, everyone. Remember what I said." Mr. Kan spoke again, his tone ever so slightly heavier. "Next."

"I'm Pony! I'm not good with Japanese, sorry! Please be good to me." She was _adorable_. "I can take these off!" Here she tapped her horns for emphasis. "And play them. Um, no… con...trol them, yeah!"

"Reiko Yanagi. Most kind greetings. My Quirk lets me manipulate objects not unlike ghosts of yore.

"Dames, Sirs, I am Jurota Shishida. My Quirk allows me to transform into the form of the beast. I hope we can get along well." Something seemed wrong. Looking over to the left corner, Setsuna could see Maria very noticeably stiffened when their resident yeti was introducing himself. What was that about…?"

"I'm Juzo Honenuki. I can soften inorganic things into mud. Pleased to meet you."

"Kuroiro. Within me dwells the unspeakable black. With it, I can merge into anything black." Oh hey, they had both a goth and a chuuni. Somehow, the realization put Setsuna at ease.

"SUP', GUYS?! I'M TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU." ...wait, what? "I can go hard like steel! I like manly and heroic things!" That name was so incredible the lizard girl didn't even have it in her to make a hard-on joke. What a legendary person, this Tetsutetsu… but now everyone's eyes settled on the remaining student to yet introduce herself.

Maria slowly rose from her seat and made her way to the podium, eyes briefly looking over the class. Setsuna gave her an encouraging thumbs-up. Much to her dismay, all the white marble did was tilt her head ever so slightly in confusion… which made everyone present look at the lizard girl instead, Vlad King included. Slowly, she lowered her thumbs-up, trying not to spontaneously combust from embarrassment. Man, high school was hard.

"_**My name is Maria Muradasilova." **_In an instant, everyone's eyes were on her. Tsuburaba turned redder than Kendo's hair. Okay, so it wasn't just her who felt like it. **_"My Japanese is still weak. Apologies. My Quirk..."_** She hesitated for a moment, exchanging glances with Mr. Kan, and then nodding to herself. **"_handles blood." _**Handles blood? Was it something like their teacher's blood control? A bit spooky, but what was so cursed about it…?Vlad King stood right there for comparison, even.

Regrettably, Maria elected not to say anything else, merely bowing her head down and returning to her seat. "Alright, everyone. Grab your PE uniforms and head out outside. We need to start with a Quirk Apprehension Test."

* * *

First an entrance exam – apparently non-recommended students had to fight giant robots? Setsuna could only be happy they got off light – and now another one right out of the gate? It seemed U.A just didn't mess around.

At least the uniforms were kind of comfy. "We'll do a number of exercises to determine your overall Quirk performance." Mr. Kan said, gesturing towards the assortment of sports gear placed around the courtyard. Although most of it seemed to have been cleaned up just fine – there were robots riding all over U.A. and it was just… the coolest – there was still a bunch of marks that indicated Class A's earlier presence here; chiefly large black marks not unlike of soot and melting ice crystals.

"...so apparently one of A can just explode things. Alright, yeah, no big deal." Tsuburaba muttered under his breath, eyes wandering to and fro.

"The ice must be Todoroki's..." Honenuki mused idly, slowly stretching.

"While I will be recording all results, don't think of this as a competition." Mr. Kan clarified, picking up a softball not unlike the one that were used in the recommendation exam. "All I want to see are your capabilities and your ease of handling your Quirks." On instinct, Setsuna's eyes wandered towards Maria. Standing head and shoulders above the others, taller even than Kamakiri and Bondo and perfectly still, she listened without a word.

"Let's begin with the ball throw."

There were eight tests in total. None of them had Maria use her Quirk.

Granted, now that she knew what it was, Setsuna could see it not being very useful for physical tests. Then again, clever application of even the weakest of Quirks could go a long way. Some were better for a particular activity, some weren't.

The ball throw was a straightforward affair. Kendo outshone everyone with her huuuuuge hand right at the start, but others weren't slouches. Kaibara's arm, spinning like a drill, sent it far far away, as did Yanagi's gentle telekinesis. Kodai made the ball slightly smaller for a satisfactory throw as well. Setsuna herself did good, detaching her hand and letting it fly further away than a simple throw would carry it. Maria, for her part, simply reeled back and threw the softball with strength befitting someone that fricking tall.

Next was the grip strength. Again did Kendo shine, but the runner-ups were different. Honenuki softened the ball to grip it more easily. Shishida and Bondo's natural strength lent itself to a high result, as did Tetsutetsu's (what a legendary name).

Fifty meter dash was dominated by Tsunotori dropping on all fours and surprising the competition with a burst of speed, but the results were more even all around. Distance run was taken by her again, but again, the runner-ups changed once more. As they went through exercises, a firm trend established itself pretty soon: there was one or two masters, three or so runner-ups, and then there was a gap between the rest of them.

Some never really ventured into those first two honored groups. Komori seemed to be struggling, as did Tsuburaba. Setsuna felt for them – they made it into U.A after an already grueling test of wits and skill, so to perform less than optimally now that they've been admitted must have brought them no small amount of embarrassment.

Maria performed consistently in the upper half of the class. With nothing but her physical aptitude – and she had lots of it – she placed just behind the specialists. "That was so manly!" Tetsutetsu cheered from the sidelines, watching their white marble clear the sandpit jump with nothing but some running distance. "Muradashirowa's killing it!"

"Ugh, that doesn't get any less of a mouthful anytime soon." Awase grumbled. "But she's yet to use that Quirk of hers."

"Mm, yes." Monoma looked thoughtful. "To not use your Quirk on a Quirk Apprehension Test… I'm hearing she did not use it for the recommendation exam either."

"...to be fair, she's built like she came from another planet entirely." Rin hummed, idly stretching out the kinks. "She might not even need it."

"Yeah, it's called Europe~"

"You're not as funny as you think, Tsuburaba."

"Whatcha talkin' about, memelords?" Setsuna approached the boys with a wave. The tests have concluded, and it seemed they were just waiting for Mr. Kan to announce the result. For now he and Maria were conversing in an unknown language once again.

"Wondering about German-on-Russian engineering."

"What, Maria? She's great, isn't she?" It wasn't like she hasn't heard them regard her hesitance to use a Quirk with apprehension, but sometimes playing dumb yielded better results. "You lot already having crushes?"

"Bite me, Tokage." Awase groused with a blush.

"Kinky. Where?" Watching the headband boy sputter and backpedal was a delight. "Kidding, kidding. But yeah, she's great. She left me and Yaomomo from class A in the dust is what she did."

"Did she really not use her Quirk through the exam?" Tetsutetsu asked.

"Not that I know of. Yaomomo said you can "feel" when someone's using a Quirk nearby you even if you can't see or feel the effects."

"That sounds spotty." Kaibara raised an eyebrow.

"No, Tokage's quite right." Monoma smiled. "Not everyone is capable of it, but it's a kind of a talent, if you will. I expected nothing less from Class A's smartest."

"Oh yeah, she did ace the written part—"

"Okay, so is it just me or is Maria-san basically the poster child for the "mysterious transfer student" trope?" Manga piped up with an interruption, his speech bubble shaping into a thinking cloud. "From far away, unknown background, tall dark and mysterious… well, tall white and mysterious..."

"Emphasis on tall." Yui showed up out of nowhere. "...she's very tall."

"You think, Kodai?" Awase rubbed his temple in annoyance.

"Guys, come on, don't lose the trail!" Manga shook his head, the bubble wiggling to and fro. "If somebody told me Maria-san's cut out of some video game, I'd believe it."

"What kind of game?" Before anyone could dwell any further on that, Mr. Kan recalled them back for the final briefing. The results were solid across the board; Setsuna ended up seventh. Honenuki was sixth, Maria – fourth. Manga, Shoda and Kinoko closed out the lineup.

"I'd like to stress once again that this isn't a competition." Aizawa might have expelled a student already – and had a reason for it beyond his harsh whimsy, since due to Maria's sudden recommendation Class A had one student too many – but Kan liked to think he held more reasonable methods. "Think of these results as guidelines on what to improve on your part. Either way, that's all for today. Return to classes for your primers on the school year. Class dismissed."

Setsuna stayed a little behind, watching Maria converse with their homeroom teacher again and thinking back to their interactions after the recommendation exam, of her words and her smile so alluring and so bone-chilling, of her gaze that seemed to be looking somewhere else. Somewhere deeper.

The game she came from was probably a horror. Or a horror-themed otome game.

* * *

**1\. I moved Shiozaki to Class A, and thus excluded Mineta from the story. I don't hate the man that much, but to maintain 40 students total, someone had to be cut, and he's the go-to shoe-in for being cut out.**

**2\. All of this is being written by the seat of my pants, honestly. This isn't nothing new from me, I suppose, but there might be some weird canon derailments in the near future. **

**3\. This goes double for Bloodborne lore; it's very unlikely to be a rethread of how things went down in the original game's background, but familiar faces and concepts will be used. **

**As always, hopefully this will be an entertaining read. Read and review. :) **


	3. Fever

"Hey hey, Maria!" The ashen giantess looked up from her phone – an ancient piece that seemed just about on the verge of usefulness – to see an approaching Pony, waving to her with a big friendly smile. Disregarding the urge to cut and run – after all, she wasn't nearly as beastly as Shishida, though she probably had to work on that instinct as well – she offered a smile of her own, but it wasn't very much of a happy look. Smiling was still something Maria had to master.

Most of her classmates let her keep to herself during the lunch break. Both Setsuna with Honenuki and Momo came by to say hi, but didn't stay for very long. Whether it was out of apprehension or because they respected her tendency towards solitude didn't matter very much to her. Pony, being half-American, likely flew right in the face of these Japanese manners. "Can I sit here?"

"_**If you wish**_.**_"_** Maria nodded, gesturing slightly towards the other seat opposite of her. The horned girl plopped down with the same friendly smile. _**"Can I help you?" **_The blonde's smile lessened slightly. There was something more on her face now, something not unlike concern. She'd seen this look back during the eat-out with her fellow recommended students.

(Do you speak English?) Maria blinked at the sudden change of language. She could, and she handled it better than Japanese so far. Still not perfect, but probably much more capable for communication.

_**(Somewhat. Do you wish to use it in our conversation?)**_

(Wow, you talk so old-fashioned. Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Pony beamed. (It should be easier for us to talk. Setsuna figured you could use some help with socializing with the others, if you like.)

_**(...is that so?) **_Maria craned her neck to where the aforementioned lizard girl was sitting, together with Honenuki, Kendo and Monoma. **_(Her concern is appreciated, but I do not know if I am much for conversation in the first place. I do not wish to be a problem.)_**

(It's not a problem at all! I figured me and you could be Learn-Japanese buddies, too! Monoma said he can help!)

**_(And what about Sir Rin?)_**

(Oh no, he's pretty solid with his Japanese already, so we would be lagging behind him.) The blonde shrugged. (I guess having the same characters for writing helps.)

_**(I see—)**_

(Wanna sit with us? Oh. Well, that was fast…)

* * *

"...and it seems she's asking Maria to come over." Monoma hummed, idly listening in on the conversation via Setsuna's detached ear and translating the conversation from afar. The lizard girl made a strange, choked sound as her hearing piece returned to her and reattached itself with a soft "POP".

"You okay, Tokage-chan?" Kendo looked on in concern, raising an eyebrow at Honenuki holding back his laughter.

"Her gaydar's at high alert, don't worry about it."

"...her… what?"

"S-so…!" After elbowing Juzo in the side, Setsuna summoned her smile back on again, trying to retake the hold of the conversation. "Uh… how's class? I mean, how's U.A so far?"

"Well, we've only been here for a few days, but so far it's a standard high school fare." Kendo hummed, taking a sip from her juicebox. "Apparently we'll have a heroics class tomorrow. Did you know All Might himself will be running these?"

"Huh. Is that right?" Monoma raised an eyebrow curiously. "I suppose that's just U.A for you. They don't skim on anything." Meanwhile, the slight mire of hushed conversation indicated a movement in the cafeteria. Indeed, the sight of a huge giantess being led by hand by a cheerfully skipping half-American attracted conversation. For her part, Maria seemed all but immune to gossip, letting Pony lead her with no issue and no embarrassment present.

Setsuna took a deep breath. Alright. Just calm down. This was your idea to begin with. You're doing it to help the stoic white marble interact and socialize with the class. It's fine. _**"Pardon the intrusion."**_ Maria spoke softly, taking a place near Monoma while Pony sat on the opposite end near Honenuki.

"Mission complete!" The blonde smiled proudly. "Friendmaker Pony, reporting!"

"Good to have you, Muradasilova." The skull-faced boy nodded hello as well.

"Well, I'm glad we can make an effort to make you feel more comfortable among us." Kendo said with a smile.

As the conversation evolved over time, so did the giantess get more talkative – but to that end, she had to switch to English to express herself better. The combined force of a native speaker's knowledge of the language and Monoma's ability to express Maria's thoughts to the others proved invaluable in making some sense of her.

Maria proved more talkative in English, yes, but – much to Pony's obvious frustration, and Monoma's minor interest – remained somewhat secretive of herself despite that. Still, with some gentle prodding the five of them managed to pull out some interesting tidbits – like the fact that their giant classmate held a noble title. _**(****_B_elieve me when I say that a title of a Lady held little value even in the ancient times, let alone now.)**_ Somehow it didn't surprise Setsuna at all that Maria thought little of it.

"Still, I suppose that is some heritage to be proud of." Monoma suggested with a smile. The ashen giantess shook her head, and her eyes for a moment took on a steely glint. To his credit, he realized that it might have been a sore subject somehow. "But we understand if you might not see it that way."

_**(Thank you kindly. It meant very little indeed. Truly, if not for my relation to the Princess of the Castle Cainhurst, I would have been relegated to a position of a faceless courtier.)**_

"Guys, what's courtier?" Pony asked with a slight tilt of her head. Honenuki eyed the horns nearing his face for a moment with a gulp.

"A royal servant, if you will." Monoma replied. "Most of their group was formed from minor nobles."

"Wait wait, hold on. Related to a _princess_ on a _castle_?" Setsuna chimed in with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, Maria. What is Castle Cainhurst?" The giantess was completely silent for a moment, as if mulling over the words to use. Nobody rushed her, fortunately, but the expectant eyes were inevitable, not unlike…

_**(My birthplace, deep in Finland.)**_ She replied, but her delivery was more stilted this time. (**_Far away from ventures of civilization, hidden at the end of the world. Think nothing of it.)_**

"It is a little hard to believe, but if there's someone who would come from a castle, it would be you." Kendo sighed with a smile before a concerned frown marred her features. "...are you uncomfortable with the topic?"

_**(Quite. I've already spoken too much.)**_

"Alright, everyone, new questions." As the discussion turned to more mundane matters, Setsuna couldn't help but think. A castle "at the end of the world", relation to its ruler, in an age where monarchies were long a relic of the past – and a "cursed Quirk", something that Maria refused to use even here, among fellow heroes-in-training… she wondered: would others be allowed such leeway? Wasn't the whole point of being a pro using their Quirk to the utmost to save people and stop villains? No Quirkless hero came to her mind, beyond fictional ones.

"Oi, Tokage." Honenuki could now freely repay the elbow nudge from earlier. Setsuna blinked, brought back from her thoughts. "You've been awful silent for a while."

"Ah, well, just… uh, just thinking of a good question." Nobody but Pony ("Makes sense!") seemed convinced of that explanation. "...come on, guys, don't look at me like I'm a t-rex or something."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kendo, bless her redhaired heart, seemed like the caring and supporting type, but it was a little difficult to explain the conundrum Setsuna found herself in. She was about to anyway, at least until Maria slowly rose from her seat. "Maria-san?"

_**(I think my presence might be ill-welcome at this table.)**_

"Oh god, no, I just…" This was becoming a disaster and then some. And she was the one outed as the person that wanted Maria to join them in the first place. "You're fine, I'm just feeling really s-s-scatterbrained today."

"No kidding."

"Honenuki, you can sass me when I'm not falling apart."

* * *

In the end, Setsuna had to take five to not explode on the spot.

A faceful of water helped in cooling down, but she still felt jittery as she looked up at her face in the mirror. There seemed to be no one else present in the bathroom, at least… but what the fuck was going on with her? This couldn't just be teenage hormones. They wouldn't leave her _this_ scatterbrained.

Was it the hormones _and_ her worries? But even then, what could be done? Maria was still very much a stranger, someone whom she – and the others, for that matter – knew for just a short time. How could _she_ help, if she barely knew of her predicament to begin with?

...maybe it was the fear she felt when they conversed back then, at that smile so beautiful and terrifying both, it had to be alien in nature. Maybe she was that thirsty to be stepped on. Maybe there was something else to it…

...maybe it was just a fever. "...are you kidding me?" She grumbled to herself, feeling at her forehead. Hot. Great, fantastic. Not even a week in and she already had to take a break…

"Tokage-chan?" Ah. Kendo. Bless her again. The redhead approached her after closing the doors, looking on worriedly. "What's going on? Are you alright?"

"I'm… not." Setsuna forced herself to stay upright, running a hand over her face. "I don't know what's going on with me today..."

"Want me to take you to the infirmary?" Oh man, Recovery Girl wouldn't be pleased with seeing her again so soon. Then again, it wasn't like it was her fault this time. The lizard girl looked sideways, rubbing her arm for a bit before she nodded. "I probably shouldn't pry, but… does it have something to do with Maria-san?"

"I mean, short of poisoning my bento, she probably has nothing to do—"

"That's not what I meant."

"Did Honenuki say something I need to punch him for?"

"Only that you've been acting strange around Maria-san today." Setsuna let out a weary sigh. No, there probably was no need to be punching anyone. He was as worried for her as Kendo here, even if he wasn't as obvious about displaying it. Maybe she really needed to just lie down and think of Finland. Or not, given that this was related to Maria once again…

* * *

Surprisingly, there was a familiar face in the infirmary.

"Yaomomo?" Indeed, the Class A's recommended student was there resting on one of the beds as well. "Feeling ill too?"

"Well, yes." The brunette seemed sheepish to admit her weakness. "Strange thing. I was feeling just fine earlier, but then I suddenly felt a little feverish."

"That makes the two of us. Uh, is Recovery Girl not around?" Setsuna took the liberty of taking one of the free beds and shooting a weak thumbs-up to Kendo. The redhead didn't look very convinced, but decided to leave the matter be.

"No, she left for a bit. She should be back soon."

"I'll make sure to pass you the notes from the classes." Kendo smiled. "Get better, Tokage-chan, Yaoyorozu-san." And soon it was just the two of them. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Setsuna kicked off her shoes and lied down, entertaining herself by gazing upon the ceiling in search of anything interesting.

"...say, Tokage-san… can I ask you something?"

"What's up?"

"Have you… been thinking about Maria-san recently?" The lizard girl stiffened, remaining silent for a time. "Please, don't take it as an impertinent question. I don't mean to imply that you might—"

"Alright, alright, please don't finish that sentence. But, uh, yes. Why?"

"Well, so have I. I'm not sure why, exactly…" Momo looked on sheepishly. "Today's been rather troubling, however, the fever and all..."

"It is one hell of a coincidence, huh? Honenuki's fine though, so maybe there's no conspiracy against recommended students after all." Setsuna relaxed slightly with a chuckle.

"So is Todoroki-san… from what little I've seen him anyway."

"Proves my point. So, uh… wanna hang out sometime later in the week?" Sure, there might have been rivals by design, but even rival heroes had to work with each other now and then. Villains and disasters did not discriminate, after all. Plus, maybe that would help in clearing her head off the strange white marble giantess that's been on her mind recently.

Some small part of Setsuna's brain told her that might have been a wise decision.

* * *

The crescent was waxing.

Maria nursed the mug of tea, letting the soothing warmth keep her fingers away from the biting cold. Tonight was inordinately chilly for this date of the year, especially for sitting outside and overlooking the world below from the cliff. Alas, nothing quite kept the mind fresh as the merciless elements. It reminded her of the few parts of home she was still fond of.

…

The fevers of Setsuna and Momo were on her. The symptoms were weak, and would go over time. It was likely that they would be right as rain the following day. Still, it was through her lack of care that they had to suffer through these episodes in the first place. She should have clarified, for the powers that were responsible might have not understood the finer nuances of human interaction. It was fortunate that tonight the Moon was at its weakest...

Maria looked up at the shining crescent. _**"Flora**_._**"**_ Something slid over the fluorescent surface, as if a spider skulking in the dark. It was hard to make out the shape from that far away. _**"**__**Your concern is well appreciated, but you should not reach out to those who are not a threat to me."**_

A pulse, a ripple in the perfectly porous surface of the Moon. _**"The world outside the nightmare is nothing both of us know. We must treat it with kindness and reverence."**_ Another pulse, and a glimmer. _**"I know. You too have been cast away. Perhaps this was what Master Gehrman's plan all along, to accustom me to you, and likewise..."**_

It was hard to believe all of that happened not even a year ago… slowly, she rose from her seat and finished the tea. The Moon shone upon her, as if longing already for her presence. _**"I will see you tomorrow. **__**Stay strong. Upon the Full Moon shall we talk longer." **_It was fortunate that her staying quarters were in such a place. Sir Kan was nothing if not welcoming of her predicament, even managing to secure a place for her in this esteemed academy of heroics after retrieving her from the vestiges of the nightmare. There was no doubt in Maria's mind there must have been a price for that.

Hopefully he would not be overburdened with his act of kindness.

* * *

**I'm not quite satisfied with this chapter, but here we go; the first insight (har har) into the eldritch of the story. It's the Moon Presence, but what is it doing with Maria? Who knows? The next chapter promises a return to normality however, stay assured. **


	4. Lady Huntress

Setsuna ran her gloved hands over her hair.

The fever of yesterday was gone without a trace, as if it never happened. She confirmed with Yaomomo that the Class A student too was back to healthiness. Just in time for their first ever Heroics class.

...and it was indeed All Might in the flesh – wow, he was even bigger from up close than on TV! - that was going to be running that class. She hid it better than most, but to say she was excited would be an understatement. The lizard girl had just about enough decorum kept inside to not excitedly bounce in place. Others didn't care much for appearances: Pony and Tetsutetsu were the ringleaders of this circle of adoration. According to the former, All Might enjoyed popularity in America still, long after he returned back to Japan.

About the only person who didn't seem that interested was the familiar ashen giantess, merely regarding the No. 1 Hero as if he was a curious sight and nothing more, not comprehending the sheer gravitas of All Might himself being in the same room as them. Then again, if she lived deep in Europe until recently, she might not have heard much of him.

...either way, today was Heroics class, and so everyone and their mom (except for Tsuburaba, who seemed to realize how out of place he looked among them) looked stylish. It was up to every student to set out the parameters for their ideal costume and, with time, Quirk evolution, and gained experience, perfect it over time.

Her scaly bodysuit might have felt a little trite compared to others – Monoma literally decked himself out with a dress suit and a dozen of clocks, and then there was Maria's gothic leather ensemble with a feathered tricorne – but she liked it that way. Either way, the plan of the class was a two-on-two bout divided into Heroes and Villains. The latter were in possession of a nuclear bomb, and it was up to the Heroes to infiltrate the building and capture the bomb and slash or the evildoers within the time limit. The teams would be decided by throwing lots.

The Villains had some extra time to prepare, which mirrored how often Heroes had to go in blind; and so, after a few more questions – including one about the two totaled buildings; apparently Class A was throwing its weight around again – everyone was ready to go.

And as fate would have it, Setsuna's partner in hero'ing was none other than the white marble herself, as the first pair, no less! The random number chance chose Kamakiri and Rin as their opponents. This was meant to be the battle of the scalies, apparently. Well, whatever happened, she had to put her mind into it. _No getting distracted with your teammate, _she thought with a frown. _It got so bad you got a fever from this distraction yesterday; no need to repeat that. _

Now, with Kamakiri and Rin preparing their villainous scheme inside the building, all the two of them could do was to wait for the signal and then do their best. Maria was still as a statue, regarding the exterior of the block with a measured look. _**"Focus on bomb. I will do battle." **_She said, beginning to roll her shoulders.

"It's probably going to be a one on one anyway. They wouldn't leave it unattended for us to capture." Setsuna replied, rubbing her chin in thought. "Kamakiri might be a hothead, but that probably just means they'll send him to fight you rather than Rin."

"_**Whoever it is, I will prevail." **_There was no ounce of arrogance or boasting in her voice. She just stated it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Then again, perhaps it was just how she spoke – with hardly any emotion to her name. **_"I do not think they will move the bomb, so we can also capture them."_**

"Is it even within rules to do that?" Maria shrugged indifferently, eyes entirely on the prize. Maybe that was for the best; Setsuna might have felt better than earlier, but she wasn't sure how she would react at being looked at with those terrifying alluring eyes. "A-anyway, here's to good luck." She extended a hand for a fistbump, but did not look to see if it was reciprocated, only sucking in a breath when Maria returned the gesture.

"_**Nervous?"**_

"A little bit."

"_**Fear not.**_ **_If you will, spare an eye. I shall show you a sporting hunt."_**

* * *

Kamakiri wasn't a scaredy-cat.

He hoped he wasn't, anyway. He most certainly wasn't afraid of the foreigner girl. All this poise and posturing would inevitably fall once he showed her some proper fighting. Kamakiri chuckled darkly, idly rubbing his left mandible.

"Tokage's probably going to be trying to sneak past us while Maria makes some noise." Rin rolled his neck, regarding the one-to-one model of a nuclear bomb. Spooky, if not for the fact that it was completely hollow inside. "Think you can take her?"

"Do birds fly?"

"Well, someone's certainly feeling confident..."

"Nothing to be scared of. If Murawhatever doesn't feel like showing off with her Quirk, I'll just show off with mine." A blade grew out of Kamakiri's elbow with an audible SHING! "Ain't gonna quake before her just because she's tall and speaks alien." Rin resisted an urge to sigh. Kamakiri was nothing if not competitive; maybe a little too much for his liking. Whatever Maria threw against them didn't matter in the long run, because it was Tokage they had to watch out for. All she needed to do was touch the model.

They were kind of dealt a short stick there, honestly. Whoever was going to fight Setsuna, they would find it an uphill battle. Neither his nor Kamakiri's Quirks really lent themselves to defense. He could shoot scales, but only what little was gathered in his gauntlets. "Belt-feeding" them wasn't something he figured out yet.

The siren announced the beginning of the clash. "Anyway, you do your martial arts thing. I'll go hunt myself a foreigner." Kamakiri grinned, skulking down the staircase. This time, Rin rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"...you can probably just ask her out for dinner or something..."

* * *

In certain ways, Togaru Kamakiri was a very familiar sight to Maria.

The way he moved, the way he looked, the way he postured and growled, the scraggly black cloak he used for a hero costume – it felt so very familiar… beastly. Perhaps that's why Shishida unnerved her so much. His beasthood seemed to be entirely within his faculties, able to be tapped into with a thought and then forsaken equally easily.

To have someone so openly confrontational was a nice change of pace, although beasts Maria was familiar with were generally not much for talk. "Hope you're ready, big girl. I'll be sending you back on a stretcher." Kamakiri raised his arm, letting the blade grow out, slowly. A Quirk as direct as they came. Ah, if only she had a blade of her own to countermeasure this curious offense.

Sadly, Rakuyo was lost to her and Mr. Kan suggested to hold on with asking for a new blade. No technology would be able to replicate a delicate Cainhurst touch, sadly. Maria rolled her shoulders and put up her dukes. _**"**__**Ready when you a-"**_ He was ready near-immediately, dashing forward as one more blade grew from the other arm, slicing with ferocity. She stepped back with a frown, remaining just shy of his range as she sized up her opponent again.

"Real nice of you to be so flippin' courteous, Miss Hero." Kamakiri sneered, sharpening the blades on one another with a savage grin. "Hope you're gonna get off your high horse soon enough."

"_**...what does the horse—"**_There was no time what this particular sentence meant, the mantis boy was upon her with wild slashes again. Maria frowned, figuring out the sense of his chaotic movements. He threw his power around without a care and without fear, like a beast would. Yes. This she could fight. Kamakiri swung his armblade with fierce power – and then stopped.

She grabbed it, and his eyes widened in surprise. She grabbed it, with one arm, confidently, without fear of losing her fingers. His blades weren't that sharp _yet, _and the thick leather she was using in her costume was dulling he impact – but one had to be mad to try and pull that kind of stunt without a hardening Quirk of some kind. "Guess you mean business." But he wasn't afraid, and wasn't planning to. The blade retracted and Kamakiri stepped back. "But you can't catch all of them."

His ragged cloak exploded into black ribbons, and a mass of mantis blades came charging down upon Maria.

* * *

"Holy shit!" In any other situation, Kendo would probably chide her classmates for the inappropriate language – especially when they were in presence of a teacher, and _what a teacher_ – but it was hard not to be a little amazed at the spectacle before them.

1B was all gathered in the observing room, privy to a spectator's view on the battle. Everyone's eyes seemed to be on grandiose, bombastic conflict between Maria and Kamakiri. She would sometimes look towards how Setsuna was doing and what Rin was up to. The former was particularly hard to follow, having split into numerous parts on entry and scouring the building with childish ease. It wouldn't be long before she found the bomb.

Rin's worry was understandable. "It's like watching two cats fight." Monoma hummed, regarding the fight with utmost interest.

"More like tigers. Kamakiri isn't playing around." Awase muttered, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Sabretooth tigers." Yui piped in. Kendo bit back a chuckle. What an astutely laconic observation. Not inaccurate though. Despite Maria not using her Quirk – not in a way that was visible, at least – there was no impression that she was holding back. Each of her movements was done with purpose. On the other hand, Kamakiri was going wild with his blades.

"It's very graceful though, isn't it?" Monoma again. "Kamakiri may look like he's posturing and Muradasilova may not be using her Quirk, but they're putting their heart and soul into the fight. I'm a little envious, actually."

"Neither of them are doing much to actually complete their mission though." Shishida pointed out with a frown. "It's very impressive and all, don't get me wrong, but we should probably focus on Lady Tokage and Sir Rin."

"C-can Rin even do anything to s-stop her?" Kinoko asked quietly.

"Hit her, I guess? Ow!"

"You earned that slap upside the head, Tsuburaba." Honenuki chuckled, watching Kuroiro retract his hand with a grouse.

"...touche. But, uh, I guess Tokage can't stay in pieces all the time, right?"

"Rin can also shoot scales from his gauntlets." Yanagi pointed out. "His is a limited supply, but if he were to strike Tokage-san in the eye—"

"Ouch."

"Yes. "Ouch" is one way to put it."

* * *

Finding the bomb – and its fellow scaly guardian – proved easy enough for Setsuna.

There were two approaches to this task: a meticulous search that, while successful, would take too much time, or banking on Rin's anxiety and just sending a bunch of parts all over the place, expecting he would deal with an errant piece no sweat. Then, following which part of her was still missing – and hurting, she had to work on that – would bring her to the target.

Sure, Rin was going to be aware that she was coming, but Setsuna was already banking on him behaving in a particular way – and sure enough, the aching of her left side led her right to to the leftmost room on the last floor. He was right there by the bomb, tapping it lightly as if it would help alleviate some stress. A perfect target to mess around with. Slowly, Setsuna split into more pieces, her "main body" remaining close to the ground as her little minion army went out, crawling upon walls and the ceiling, just out of sight.

Even with that jiangshi-esque mask on, she could tell he was sweating bullets there. And so, one fragment flew just past him, and then another, and another. "Tokage, this isn't as funny as you think this is!" He barked, swatting away the bits swarming around him with purpose. He wasn't using his gauntlets, likely hoping she'll grow impatient and emerge to try and secure the bomb. She had to land her hand on it, and that Rin would be able to swat out of the air.

Unless… she recalled the separated chunks, consciously making them return in three different ways so that Rin wouldn't go after her. In a straight up fight, she would be at a disadvantage, so her main bet was to freak him out with unusual approaches. So, if she needed a hand, she could always make one~

The chunks formed together into a rough facsimile of a palm. The ruse was obvious if you gave it a longer look, but between him being unfamiliar with her costume and his general nerves, a short look would be all but sufficient…

* * *

Kamakiri wasn't a scaredy-cat… but he could not find the air in his lungs either.

He made a critical mistake early on, and now was reaping what he had sown. It seemed like a good idea on paper: Muradasilova couldn't grab all the blades if he just turned into a porcupine. Unfortunately, he overestimated his ability to produce them. He put the tall foreigner on the defense with his attacks, yes… but soon the blades became brittle and growing more proved a tall ordeal.

All Quirks had physical limitations of one's stamina. If you overused it, it would become weaker, unavailable, or even actively hurt you from the strain. Kamakiri never ventured into the latter territory, thankfully… but it was a cold comfort against his opponent, who was in peak condition to whoop his ass. The fact that she hadn't actually used her Quirk wasn't honestly as aggravating as the fact that he clipped her _once_, and it barely did anything.

Save for when she intentionally grabbed his blade to prove a point, he hit her _once_ this entire fight. How could someone so tall be so fucking hard to hit? _**"Are we done?"**_ She asked, dusting her coat off with the same impassive look. Fuck no they weren't, but Kamakiri couldn't even muster a quip, his whole body dripping from sweat. She could probably just push him over at this point. Still, he stood up, growing one more blade from his left arm, no longer than a kitchen knife.

"_**Very well. Come forth." **_It annoyed him that she didn't even deign to trash talk him, or to boast or to do anything to show her interest. Or maybe she was interested? It still felt to him like she was just going through the motions. Sure wasn't holding back, but… ah, fuck it! Kamakiri roared and charged forward in a mad dash to hit her. She frowned and leaned forward a little before making a single long step to meet him, fist-to-abdomen first.

The mantis boy's eyes almost popped out of his skull as he went taut, the leather knuckles digging into his bared upper body. A pained sound tried to came out, but there was nothing but a silent wheeze before he crumpled onto her arm, his consciousness leaving him. Maria sighed and grabbed him before he slumped onto the floor, gently sitting him up against the wall and using the capture tape to get him out of the competition.

At this point it really was just a formality.

* * *

"...holy shit." Kendo had no strength to chide herself after seeing how Kamakiri folded like an accordion from the blow. No one could blame her; most people in the room were trying to pick their jaws off the floor. Even All Might's smile seemed slightly smaller.

"He'll be eating through a straw for a few days..." Manga stammered, the speech bubble quivering in awe and fear of the spectacle in front of them. Again, everyone's attention was on the battle – or the aftermath of thereof.

"But again, all this was just smoke and mirrors." Shishida counterpointed, one of the few to remain with a clear head. "Their entire fight is superfluous to the conflict at hand."

"I mean, Kamakiri wouldn't let her just leave..." Kaibara pointed out. The furry student shook his head.

"True, but he was the one who willingly set out to seek her, and her specifically, out. Rather than ever entertain the thought of dealing with Lady Tokage first, who is a much more formidable adversary in this battle, he went straight for what he perceived to be the biggest challenge."

"And paid for it." Yui concluded with a nod.

"Either way, Rin's in trouble." Tsuburaba concluded with a nod. "Tokage's got a head on her shoulders – except when she doesn't – so she's probably been messing with him for a while now..."

"...that's exactly what she's been doing, yes." Reiko pointed out with an eyeroll. "But the spectacle got everyone's attention instead." As if to emphasize her words, the feed in the bomb room cut to Setsuna hugging the bomb with a toothy grin. She was missing a chunk of her torso, formed into a fake hand currently giving Rin a very clumsy noogie. Just like that, the first match was over – with a decisive Hero Team win.

* * *

**Not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out; either way, this will be the only fight exercise covered in the chapter. A substantial canon derailment is in the works, and soon to come to the story. You'll see it once it appears, but for now I'll just say it involves some unwanted visitors. c: As always, read and review. **


	5. Foreigner From Afar

Setsuna had no choice but to reaffirm her earlier statement – whatever higher being sculpted Yaomomo, they could not possibly have enough fun with it.

It was meant to be a simple casual outing between friends, some kind of venture to get to know each other better than before. They had yet to have any joint lessons with Class A, and it didn't seem like these would be very common to begin with. Thus, with the proposition she made to her fellow recommended student in the infirmary in mind, the two of them agreed to just go and windowshop in Kamino.

Yaomomo's boots were probably worth more than her entire outfit. Then again, who could forbid her showing off a little? She was just wearing them, and rocking them too. She was rocking her entire ensemble, in fact, but that was neither here nor there. "Good afternoon, Tokage-san." She greeted her with a small smile and a nod. Setsuna resisted the little instinct screaming at her to run for the hills.

"H-hey. Glad you could make it." She couldn't help but feel ever so slightly quaint in her T-Rex tee. "Looking good."

"I figured I should try to be presentable." She probably didn't mean anything mean by it, but Setsuna once again couldn't help but feel ever so slightly quaint. "Shall we go then?"

Off they went, entertaining themselves with pleasant small talk. As the lizard girl expected, this was only a first time Yaomomo set out on such a trip with anyone. They turned heads – well, her taller peer did, Setsuna didn't kid herself – semi-frequently, but the Class A girl seemed oblivious to the fact, her attention divided between a friend by her side and the road ahead.

As it turned out, Yaomomo was as smart as she was pretty-no, beautiful. As she explained, her Quirk was only effective if she knew the molecular structure of an object she wanted to create. Setsuna smiled and nodded, a little ashamed to admit she didn't know what "molecular" meant. "It's fortunate that my parents run a pharmaceutical company." Yaomomo said. "It helped me get interested in chemistry and biology, and from there I could begin training my Quirk to the utmost."

"And look at you now, ready to take U.A. by storm." The taller girl blushed ever so slightly. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"Well, your encouragement is welcome, and I trust in your ability as well, but… there are some amazing people in my class that make me think my recommendation might have been a bit of a coincidence. You know of Ingenium, yes?"

"Sure do. You could even say I'm _up to speed_ on him~" Yaomomo tilted her head ever so slightly in visible confusion. Setsuna made a mental note to not try with puns ever again. "...er, yeah."

"Well, his brother Tenya attends the class, and he has the speed to spare. We also have Shiozaki-san, with her vine-like hair, Midoriya-san with his utterly destructive raw power—"

"Wait, I think I've heard Juzo – I mean, Honenuki – mention that name before. Wasn't he the kid that broke his arm punching a city block-sized robot?"

"Correct. He says he has trouble controlling his Quirk." Setsuna flinched. It had to be crazy strong if he still didn't have a grip on it by the time of admission. "I hope he continues to improve though. We also have Bakugo-san, although… hm..." Yaomomo's expression spoke of extremely hesitant concern. "his attitude could use some work."

"...wait, lemme guess. Sandy-haired asshole that calls people extras?"

"Oh, so you've met him already."

"Kinda sorta. He told me to beat it on the first day of school." The taller girl frowned.

"I'll make sure to have a talk with him about respecting our peers – for all it's worth." Setsuna shook her head with a chuckle, leading the other girl to a crepe stand nearby.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but don't bother. He sounds like the type of guy that would only just tell you off for it."

"He would." It was time for a well-deserved food break. After all, windowshopping and trying not to say something dumb when in presence of such a girl did take the energy out of you. As they enjoyed their snacks, Setsuna watched the crowd pass by. All these strange people, with strange names, strange Quirks… the urban jungle. Yet, things were orderly even if loud and slightly chaotic. There was something beautiful in this organized chaos, full of life and hero advertisements. The life-sized billboard of Mount Lady right on top of one of the office towers was a nice touch.

{Ah… excuse me.} A male, slightly scatterbrained voice in English interrupted the idle observation. Setsuna turned to regard the man, obviously a foreigner by face alone. A little pasty and wiry, with a mane of messy black hair and beady eyes going to and fro, he seemed like a model nervous wreck – and yet his countenance was overall composed and sunny. Honestly, she wouldn't probably spare a guy like that in a crowd much of a look. {Can I have a moment of your time?}

{Can we help you, sir?} Yaomomo replied in her own English, accented but no less fluid for it. The man's smile growing ever so slightly seemed to indicate they might have been the first people in a while to address him in English.

{Ah, I'm so happy to meet an English-speaker. I'm in need of directions.} What was up with his shirt? Idly munching on her crepe, Setsuna couldn't help but notice how _bizarre_ the thing the foreigner wore was. It was an ordinary black tee, but with a design so weird and illogical it could have very well been made by an infant playing with paint. It looked a bit like a giant eye, now that she thought about it…

Well, whatever the "School of Mensis" was, their logo sucked. {I have this address here. I was supposed to meet the associate in Kamino Ward, but I appear to have gotten a little lost.} Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, the foreigner chuckled softly as he presented the dirty sheet of paper. {So far it seems like most people I meet here choose to avoid me instead.}

{This is the Quirk Research Institute, I believe. Its branch in Kamino, at least.}

{Oh yes, I've been told to look for QRI. I should have asked for a full name. Silly old chav, that Micolash.} Setsuna quirked an eyebrow.

{Well, you can reach it by heading over there, past the Rei Cinema and into the Feto Avenue. Then you'll have to take the third alley to the left.}

{I could not have asked for a more detailed instruction. Thank you kindly, young miss!} How old was this guy, actually? Something told Setsuna he couldn't be much older than them, in his twenties at best… and yet she couldn't help but think he was much, much more venerable. She wasn't sure _why_ she thought that, but it was the thought that inspired little confidence. {Mergo bless you!}

{Ah… thank you.} After saying his goodbyes, the two girls watched the strange man go on his merry way. The back of his shirt depicted a wall of eyes – a literal wall made of eyes, as if the front wasn't creepy enough – and a sentence in an unfamiliar language.

_Et ipsa scientia potestas est. _

"That was… weird. And creepy." Setsuna summarized, shaking off the goosebumps. Yaomomo didn't say anything, merely nodding as she watched the man go. "You okay?"

"Yes, don't worry about me. I'm just trying to find the logic between the wall of eyes and the sentence."

"...don't tell me you could read it."

"Well, yes. It was Latin, a language ever so helpful for learning science." Of course she knew the language, and of course she made it sound like it was the most natural thing in the world. If she wasn't so great, Setsuna would start feeling a tiny bit jealous by now.

"So what does it say?"

"_And knowledge itself is power."_

* * *

The weird episode with the foreigner aside, the outing was a smashing success.

Yaomomo even suggested that they do it again sometime, maybe with some more people. Setsuna didn't necessarily mind an idea of going out with a larger group, even if Honenuki teasing her through the entire thing was a dreadful prospect. Speaking of, here he was, texting her if she prepared the homework for the coming Classic Lit class on Monday.

Yikes. She didn't. One quick question of "hey, can I drop by real quick" later, Setsuna sighed, looking out the window. The sun was beginning to set, and the train ride home was uneventful, with hardly a soul in the car. As her thoughts started losing focus, she couldn't help but think of the strange foreigner from earlier. What was it about him that unnerved her? Was it really only a shirt? Or was it the things that could not be seen, his "aura" if she were to call it somehow?

It felt stupid pondering this, but there were some things that just didn't add up. Why ask them, two random high school girls, rather than literally anyone else? Even if the man really had little luck in finding someone speaking English, wouldn't the police or even a pro-hero on patrol be able to help? Some food for thought, but she wasn't very hungry to begin with. Of course.

Maybe she was just more tired from their walkabout than she thought. Oh well. Juzo better had some hot cocoa on standby…

* * *

The recent days seemed unusually packed with events, Momo thought.

Ever since she and Tokage-san had a chance encounter with the strange foreigner, it seemed as if new things kept happening. The voting for a class rep was to be expected – somehow she became a Deputy President, with Iida-san taking the lead role – but the media making it into the school grounds? Certainly not. As if to make matters worse, the gossip around the students seemed to find a more insidious plot there.

A declaration of war, they called it.

She would probably not give it much thought, but these few days had her in a contemplative mood more often than not. Ever since that strange fever, in fact. Odd. She hadn't felt worse since that day, nor did her concentration falter much – so why did she drift off into ennui the moment there was nothing to be done?

"Yaomomo-chan?" Momo's eyes snapped open as she regarded Uraraka-san looking at her with confusion and concern. "Are you okay? You've been spacing out the entire ride to USJ."

"Oh, um… please don't mind me. Maybe I'm just coming down with something."

"Again? Didn't take you for a sickly kind of person, _mon cherie."_ Honestly, Momo wished that Aoyama-san stopped throwing random French phrases into his speech. "Still, that might affect your performance. You could probably be excused just taking a break."

"I couldn't possibly. I can't afford to keep leaving classes because I'm feeling slightly under the weather."

"That's Yaoyorozu for you." Satou-san cheered from his spot. "Model student extraordinaire!"

"Still, don't push yourself if you're gonna pass out. We're only starting." Momo took Uraraka-san's advice with an uneasy smile. Maybe she was just overthinking things, as she tended to do. It was just a class, and she was going to do her best in it.

...so why was she getting this strange feeling of uneasiness as their bus rolled up to the USJ dome?

* * *

"I've yet to figure out why Lady Muradasilova seems so at edge around my presence."

Setsuna hummed, listening to 1B's Vice Prez's plight. True, Maria was a bit off whenever Shishida was nearby. The lizard girl didn't feel confident enough to ask her about it – it might have been some deep-seated issue the white marble might not have been ready to divulge.

"You think she's a racist or somethin'?" Awase suggested. "Like one of them CRC assholes?"

"Oh God, I hope not." Manga shook his head fervently. "She has no trouble talking with me or Pony though. Or the scalie over here."

"Wow, excuse you—"

"Yeah, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt." Kendo nodded, brow furrowed in worry. "This seems to be something else."

"But that's what's been bothering me." Shishida sighed in defeat. "What could it possibly be that makes Lady Murada—"

"Honestly, just call her Lady Maria at this point." Awase shook his head. "She doesn't seem to mind it much, and it's less of a tongue-twister."

"Well, 'Lady Maria' does roll off the tongue nicely." Setsuna hummed idly. Honenuki marked a chuckle with a cough. "Speaking of, where is she? She disappeared right when the lunch break started."

"Monoma said that she went over with Mr. Kan. Apparently the Principal called them in about something."

"And where's Monoma?" Kendo made a face. The lizard girl raised an eyebrow, but continued nevertheless. "It's not like 1A is present. They went out to the USJ."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's currently boobytrapping the entire 1A classroom." Manga chortled. The redhead gave him a look, and then slowly rose from her seat.

"I know you're joking, but I… should probably go look for him anyway. See you in class, everyone." The group presented watched her go.

"Hmm… Lady Tokage, Sir Honenuki. Perhaps you might have an idea as to why Lady Maria might be tense around my personage?" Shishida picked up the briefly abandoned topic. Setsuna tapped her chin in thought, eyes idly moving to Juzo.

"We don't really know much about her." The lipless boy replied, tone thoughtful. "She's minor nobility, lived in a castle, thinks her Quirk is cursed. At this point everyone in clas could tell you that."

"Maybe you look like a werewolf to her." Kuroiro chuckled, passing by the group with his lunch tray. Awase shot him a dirty look.

"Dude, don't be an asshole. Besides, Shishida looks more like a yeti than a werewolf."

"Now who's the asshole?" The aforementioned presumed werewolf waved it off with a chuckle.

"I get those a lot, it's nothing. I don't think I follow your train of logic though, Sir Kuroiro."

"That's because none of you ever read gothic literature." The jet-black face smiled mysteriously. "A remote castle at the end of the world? A woman of impeccable countenance so pale she probably reflects in the moonlight, who claims her inner power to be the accursed workings?"

"...what does that even mean—"Kuroiro hushed Manga's befuddled question with a tap to the speech bubble. Setsuna watched it turn from cloudy to jagged in a second with some amusement.

"Just saying. It feels almost too much like a coincidence. In gothic lit, the enemy is either a ghost, a werewolf, or a vampire."

"Come on, Kuroiro." Honenuki rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "First of all, werewolves don't exist."

"People with Quirks do however. I'll remind you we have a blood manipulator for a teacher, and Kamakiri is literally right there." Here Kuroiro pointed over to the table where the mantis boy was, currently chatting it up with Bondo and Pony.

"So someone who looks like a werewolf would make her tense?" Shishida pondered. "Now that I think of it… she all but turned into another hallway midstep when she saw Mr. Inui a few days back."

"I think she'll get used to it eventually." Honenuki said. "I hope she will. Wouldn't want anyone in the class to feel uncomfortable."

"I know she will." Setsuna mirrored the sentiment with a hum. "A vampire, huh? I guess she looks a bit like a countess-don't even say anything, Honenuki."

"I don't know what you're talking about~"

* * *

One would think that a sudden appearance of villains – real villains – would make for the main event of the day.

They showed up without a warning, just casually appearing in the middle of the USJ as if this was their plan all along. They numbered in dozens, easily outnumbering the class and the teachers. The three leading the attack stayed back a little, but just catching a passing look at them made Momo feel queasy.

The huge muscleman with a bird beak and an exposed brain, the man who looked like a cloud of dark mist – and the third one, covered in mummified hands, hunching forward slightly and looking ahead with a glare so utterly vile it couldn't possibly belong to a human being. And yet, there was no mistaking it, even as Mr. Aizawa told them to stay back as he went to engage the group, all by his lonesome.

These were real villains, with real ill intentions… so why was she feeling so oddly at ease despite the looming threat, as if this was a mere calm before the storm? Even when the Mistman cut off their way of escape – introducing himself and his associates as the League of Villains – Momo didn't feel fear; merely grim determination to take them down.

"**Do not take it personally."** Black Mist Man said, without a hint of sincerity. Thirteen, the Black Hole Hero and the overseer of the USJ, stood between the villain and them, ready to apply their destructive power – and that was when the second portal opened. This one, this one Momo felt the terror from, even though the men(?) emerging from it looked overall less imposing the mean collection of thugs in the League's employ.

Judging by the slight narrowing of the Black Mist Man's eyes, this wasn't a planned event. "Oi, what the fuck's going on, Mistface?" Bakugo barked at the villain. "You need so many extras that you had to take turns comin' here?!"

"I dunno, that's already way too many baddies..." Kaminari replied nervously. "Even if they don't look very… threatening?" Indeed, the collection of short and masked persons in rags, each of them only distinguished by the weapon they held, had nothing on the group from earlier. And yet, Momo felt uneasy as they poured out in a regular phalanx, in a parody of uniformity.

They wasted no time engaging the League's men in complete silence, and soon the plaza became a chaotic battle. Five more figures emerged from the second portal – not unlike the mist-like warps the League came from. The first three appeared to be supersized versions of the little masked men, bloated and weighty, each with a massive weapon to their name. The fourth one was tall and gaunt, but completely obscured by their cloak.

The fifth one came last, and Momo's eyes turned as wide as saucers. "...what devil is this…?" She heard Shiozaki hiss in a bout of indignation. She was inclined to agree, if only because this was a very familiar face she was seeing down the plaza. Even with the huge cage on his head and the robust robes of a vintage university student, there was no mistaking the serenely nervous face behind it.

The man she and Tokage-san gave directions to the other day was there, apparently leading a villain attack right in UA's heart – and that made Yaoyorozu Momo much more anxious than she would have liked.

* * *

**Been a while. Getting to the end of this chapter was a bit of a chore, so apologies if it feels like filler to you. It's a familiar Bloodborne face, and he's there to steal Shigaraki's spotlight – but _why_ is he here to begin with? That you'll find in the next chapter. I feel like I might have an easier time writing that – and the chapter after. I hope it was to your liking. :)**


	6. Melee

Shigaraki Tomura's day went from 100 to 0 really fucking fast.

The quest seemed so easy: grab minions, warp to the dungeon via Kurogiri's Quirk, beat the shit out of the final boss via Nomu. Boom, quest complete. So much EXP from that you could swim in it. A more hesitant man would consider possible what-ifs, but Shigaraki was too far ahead to bother with such details.

So obviously the details ruined his day. First, All Might was nowhere to be seen. A bunch of brats, some low-level mobs to beat up more for fun than anything else, a few elite mooks the teachers. Alright, fine, he could adapt to that. If there was a way to rub failure in All Might's stupid face, he would take seven before killing him.

...but then some cage-faced NPC showed up with his own assortment of flunkies, and things went to shit in a matter of seconds. Nomu remained motionless, ready to be ordered. Kurogiri was still at the staircase, looking as stumped as the students and the other educator (Eraserhead was showing off in the meantime, flying between his minions and NPC's minions. Pretty cool showing, Shigaraki had to admit). He scratched at his neck, and then some more, frustration mixing with the momentary relief.

And then the NPC opened his stupid fucking mouth, using some kind of technique to enhance his stupid fucking voice. "Most kind greetings, U.A! I am Micolash, a representative of the School of Mensis! If you would please spare me a moment of your time..." Alright, no, fuck this. Shigaraki motioned for Nomu to lift him up, now seated on the giant shoulders. He took a deep breath and… "See, I seek no quarrel with your school. I'm sure there's many a kind souls among your ranks that—"

"KUROGIRI! RESET THE FUCKING AGGRO!" Shigaraki shouted as loud as he could. The cage-face gave him an incredulous look, clearly upset with being interrupted. Let the fucker be upset, Shigaraki thought. Fortunately, his warp specialist was well-informed about the lingo the up-and-coming villain used, and so, using the element of surprise, warped the UA group around the dome, into the various zones. Sure, one of the teachers was still with them, but that'd still scatter them, right into the loving embraces of his goons.

With that out of the way, Shigaraki shuffled off Nomu and gave the cage-face a look. "Now… let's have a chat, you lousy NPC."

* * *

The Landslide Zone's name was self-explanatory, really.

"So, what's the plan, ladies?" Kaminari asked, nervously assessing the menacing group of no-goods approaching them.

"Try not to die." Jiro replied dryly, holding onto the length of iron pipe Yaomomo procured for her. That wasn't exactly how she – or any of the class, probably – imagined the class to go, but there was no point deliberating over it now.

Shiozaki demonstratively cracked her knuckles as her vine-like hair flared, ready to defend herself and her classmates. To Jiro's satisfaction, a few of the encroaching villains flinched on reflex. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." She intoned, with a look of steel. Christians were scary, Jiro thought.

"What the fuck does that even—"Before one of the villains – the boggle-eyed guy with blue hair – could finish the thought, the vine shot forward and wrapped around the no-gooder. "H-hey! Get 'em, you lot!"

"Don't you order me around!" The bull-headed villain nonetheless charged forward with little regard of strategy, letting the students scatter easily. Before he could turn, Yaomomo tripped him up with a steel pipe of her own, letting him stumble inelegantly into the wall and get his horns stuck. "Son of a—"

"...you know, I feel stupid for having worried about these goobers."

"Try not to jinx us, Kaminari." Jiro cast a look at Yaomomo. Though the tall peer of hers seemed to be doing fine, something was bothering her all day – and she did catch her staring at the cage-faced villain in disbelief. This wasn't fear, it was more like… surprise? Did she see that guy somewhere before? Another villain charged in, and she was happy to introduce him to the business end of the pipe. "Especially since we've yet to see these weird midget things."

As if on cue, once the villain she knocked down was back up on his feet, the quiet "thwip" and the following soundless gasp made him fall backwards with the crossbow bolt sticking out of his head. Jiro blinked, a little late to the realization before another bolt went flying towards her instead. Kaminari was quick to the rescue, throwing himself towards her to knock both of them down on the ground, the bolt embedded in the rock mere centimeters further away.

"What was that about jinxing?" He laughed nervously as they got back up to size up the new enemy: about a dozen of short men in metal helmets shaped like jester hats, faces obscured behind expressionless masks, and various instruments of murder prepared to kill hero and villain alike. Right behind them was one of the masked giants, toting around a huge cleaver.

And, much to the students' understandable worry, all of them were looking at Momo. "Do you mind?!" The bull-headed villain barked, having finally freed himself from the wall. "We're trying to kill some brats here!"

"Doing a killer job here." Jiro groused, rolling her eyes.

"What the hell are those lil' midgets anyway?!" The boggle-eyed villain asked from behind the confines of Shiozaki's hair.

"Ask questions later. You've seen that they won't hold back." Yaoyorozu finally spoke up, clutching the pipe in her hands ever so harder. "We won't kill you, or at least try not to unlike them."

"Are you suggesting we ally with these sinners?" Shiozaki frowned, watching as the masked group began making their way down the cliff.

"We might not have a choice."

* * *

Nothing about this situation made sense in Aizawa's opinion.

The villain attack at the heart of UA's facility was a possibility, yes, but it was always a single-digit-percentage possibility. It was more likely that an enterprising villain group would rather attack one of the educators or students while outside of school. It made for a much safer shot at becoming known.

To have _two_ villain groups attack the same place at the same time, and immediately come to blows about the situation was nothing short of unthinkable. It made Aizawa's job much easier – if nothing else – as he stormed through the scores of small-time thugs and masked men. Unfortunately it was a cold comfort still; he recognized some of the people from the League as small-time villains, more known for bank heists than serious terrorism, but the ringleaders were a complete mystery to him. As for the other group, this School of Mensis, here he was in complete dark.

The little men had no Quirks to erase, no sign of personality, they didn't even make the slightest sound as they suffered damage or threw out attacks. The one masked giant seemed to be coordinating its lesser brethren, barking out commands in a language Aizawa didn't know – nor was he sure if he wanted to know it. The ringleaders of both groups seemed to be arguing, though it was obvious that only one side – the handy guy from the League – was invested in the argument. Their lieutenants remained by their sides, remaining completely silent and motionless. The giant muscled thing with an exposed brain was already unnerving enough, but the tall figure completely covered in a cloak was a complete unknown – and Aizawa hated unknowns.

More worryingly, it seemed that the Black Mist villain succeeded in dispersing the students. Eraserhead knew his class, he knew Thirteen was with one group, at least, and he was more than certain that neither the small-time thugs nor the masked men would give them much trouble – but it was hard not to be worried all the same. Fortunately, it seemed the ringleaders cared little for their minions, happy to bicker and let Aizawa dwindle their numbers little by little.

The masked giant wasn't indifferent however, finally stomping towards him with a battle cry. Eraserhead readied his scarf, watching the giant cleaver make a sudden motion and stepped back – right into a grip of one of League villains. The pug-faced man chortled, his grip tightening on the hero's torso as the masked giant stomped over to them.

"I dunno what's going on here, but I ain't going down without taking down one of you—"Aizawa didn't let him finish, throwing the back of his head against the villain's face, and then again. The pug-face's grip lessened just enough for him to squirm free and avoid the falling cleaver. Despite its disuse and rust, it went cleanly through the body and bone, bifurcating the villain in one strike, letting the halves fall apart with a sickening squelch. Eraserhead frowned, watching the giant dislodge the weapon from the ground and set its sights on him again.

* * *

The situation at the Flood Zone was overall much less dire than Izuku first expected.

Sure, they were on a ship and surrounded by villains with various aquatic Quirks, but they had Thirteen on their side! Plus, their group was pretty strong overall even without them. Well, they were. For all of the amazing power One for All was, it didn't help much if he couldn't use it effectively.

"We can't just float with Ochako-chan's Quirk; they can probably shoot us down from the water, ribbit." Tsuyu said, watching the mean selection from the deck.

"Fighting in water isn't very good either." Thirteen nodded, assessing the situation. "And we can't afford to just sit on the ship."

"Honestly, sensei, we might have the best shot at fighting them on the ship still." Kirishima countered with a grim face. Koda was nearby, coming to a realization that the basin had no animals to call to. "Short of catapulting ourselves out of here somehow—"

"I, uh, I actually have an idea—"

"Let's wait with the arm-breaking until we're out of options, Midoriya." Thirteen chided the green-haired boy gently. Deku looked on sheepishly, but agreed with the assessment. "Unfortunately, I can't just suck away the water from here, not all of it. At best we'd just impair them slightly."

"And if someone gets caught in the vacuum, too…" No one finished Uraraka's thought. For a moment the group of heroes was silent, listening to villains outside jeering and taunting them – and then the screaming started. "Oh no..."

"The little dudes." Kirishima squinted, watching the scores of little masked men attack the villains in water, firing upon them with crossbows and crude firearms. The few unfortunate thugs were already drifting back-up, the others dispersed and fired back at the assailants, their focus temporarily broken.

"Why did they come here in the first place, ribbit…?"

"They're distracting the villains, at least, but we'll still have a hard time leaving… unless..." Thirteen's eyes wandered over to Tsuyu, then to Midoriya before they shook their head. "...ah, dang it. I can't endanger you kids like that."

"With all due respect, sensei" Izuku spoke up, nodding. "we all knew when we came here that we would have to fight villains sooner or later. If I have to break an arm to save us, then I'd break both and ask for seconds."

"That's—"

"Super manly! Yeah, Midoriya's right!" Kirishima nodded fervently. Something told both Tsuyu and Ochako that this wasn't the word Thirteen had in mind. Still, desperate times sometimes called for desperate measures…

"Aizawa will kill me. Alright, listen up. The plan goes like this..."

* * *

"Mr. Shigaraki, I don't think our goals misalign."

"The School of Mensis" was still a stupid name, but that Micolash NPC wasn't looking for a fight, apparently. Could have fooled him. "The fate of the Pro-Hero Society disinterests us. We have loftier ideas in mind." Micolash said with a conciliating smile. Shigaraki wasn't stupid enough to not notice the cage-face spoke from a really tall horse.

"Oh yeah? And you just so casually busted into my raid like you knew it was happening. You think I'm a moron?"

"Ah, but that is simply the benevolence of Mergo and of Kos, some say Kosm. To have a fateful meeting with an ally of convenience… that too lies within their purview."

"Stop… look, whatever, I don't fucking care. Just make your minions stop killing my minions and we're golden."

"Naturally, if you would be so kind to assent to a request of mine." Shigaraki's eyes narrowed dangerously low.

"Don't push your luck, NPC. The only reason Nomu isn't turning your fucking cage into a piece of modern art is because I'm a patient man—"

"You certainly are, what's with the scratching."

"—and I don't fucking appreciate being ordered around." That got Micolash to laugh.

"Order? I thought this is a mutual agreement. Your men's lives are spared for a request of mine, and we part ways in good spirits." Shigaraki hated to concede, but he needed as many bodies to throw at All Might as possible once he showed up. Whatever, assuaging the freak would do, even if he hated to.

"Alright, fucking fine. What do you want?"

"Perfect. See, I know for a fact that there are persons of interest among this year of Hero Course students to me and my group. I had a pleasure of meeting them both a few days back; real pleasant young women, those—"

"Get to the fucking point."

"I am looking for one Yaoyorozu and one Tokage. One of them belongs to this class, a gorgeous lass of tall posture and raven hair, held high in a ponytail." Shigaraki didn't really care for individual students. All they were good for was to die for his amusement and to rub it in All Might's stupid fucking face. Getting one abducted by some creepy cult guy worked just as well.

"You've heard the man, Nomu." The giant crooned lowly. "Now go fetch the bitch." In an almost an instant, it was gone in a mad sprint towards the closest zone. It would search through all of them until it found the person of interest, and deliver it before Shigaraki with tacit indifference. Micolash watched it go with an impressed hum.

"Quite a formidable fellow, that Nomu."

"Damn straight. He's here to kill All Might, he's gotta be strong enough for it." Kurogiri reappeared nearby, regarding the unlikely ally with a frown before turning to Shigaraki. "How's it look?"

"**All students and Thirteen have been dispersed, Shigaraki Tomura. We should make haste however; it might only be a matter of time before they try to break through to summon reinforcements."**

"That's your fucking job, Kurogiri. Make sure none of them leaves." The Black Mist Man didn't reply, merely nodding, passing another glance at Micolash and his mysterious aide before vanishing again. "The obvious things I have to explain to him..."

"You might want to explain why you left yourself open." The two villains turned to see one of the masked giants fall down on its face. Eraserhead was prowling towards them, the golden mask on his eyes unflinchingly staring them down as the scarves fluttered around him.

"Ohoho, a true Pro-Hero! How exciting!" Micolash clapped, not looking very perturbed. Shigaraki bit back a curse, scratching his neck again.

* * *

If there was anyone to send out to run to get help, it would be Iida.

From the top of the Mountain Zone the group at the peak had a good look at Todoroki casually dispatching both the League goons and the masked men of Mensis. "You sure he'll be alright?" Mina asked with a frown.

"Fucking Half-n-Half, showing off right now..." Bakugo growled under his breath. "You lot fucking ready or what?!"

"Yeah, I'm… just… about finished..." Sero grunted, finishing the last touches with the tape. "There. This is the dumbest thing we've ever done." Iida – their designated carrier pigeon – didn't look very convinced of the idea, but the reasoning was sound. Even with his super speed it would be hard to escape the Black Mist Villain's warping Quirk – unless he wasn't aware that Iida was coming.

Thus, an outright inane plan to slingshot Iida to the entrance was born. Sero provided the materials for the slingshot, Mina some aerodynamics with her acid, and Bakugo – extremely reluctantly, since his first idea was to fight their way out – an extra push with his explosions. Todoroki was a bonus, taking care of any villains trying to reach them at the foot of the mountain.

"Fucking finally. Get in here, Four-Eyes, I wanna blow" Bakugo ignored the barely masked snickering from Sero and Mina, more nervous than anything. Fucking extras and their anxiety. "you up."

"I'm well-aware you are, Bakugo-kun." Well, this _was_ the best idea they had. Even though the goons below were easily dispatched, they didn't know the capabilities of the ringleaders, and it would still take too long. Taking one risk now was a better option than risking things going pear-shaped over time. Thus, the youngest of the Ingenium line was ready to become a living projectile. "Alright. Pull."

"Don't you go dying on us, Prez, you hear?" Sero grinned as he and Mina tugged the tape backwards until the elastic material was stretched to the utmost.

"Right. I'll Recipro-burst in the air to maintain momentum and try not to fall on landing." Iida nodded. The helmet didn't show it, but he was becoming less and less sure of this outrageous idea. "Even if the villain tags me with his Quirk, it might not be strong enough against the kind of speed I'll have with your help."

"That's the plan, yeah. Don't go losing limbs though." Mina nodded, looking towards Bakugo. There were already exploding sparks on his palms, and he looked entirely too pleased with the idea of tagging Iida with a boom. "Alright, Sero, Bakugo. On three."

"One..."

"Two..."

"DIE!" The two let go off a tape a mere moment before Bakugo let loose with the explosion. Iida bit back a pained groan as the momentum propelled him forward through the air, struggling to maintain the upright position. He saw the plaza from below, with Eraserhead engaging the ringleaders, and the giant muscleman running towards the Landslide Zone at a breakneck pace, but he couldn't distract himself now. The Black Mist was looking his way, but either the surprise or the skepticism kept him from attacking right away, and that was Iida's chance.

"Recipro-BURST!" The sudden burst of additional speed almost sent him spinning like a windmill before he repositioned and landed just outside the exit, bursting through the glass door to the villain's utter consternation. Now all he had to do was to keep this momentum… and get help.

Hopefully this help would come here fast enough.

* * *

"You know what, once this is over, I think I'll retire from the whole villain business."

The individual masked men were fairly nonthreatening, without much physical power or even proficiency in using their weapons. The giant leading them was another story, as strong as it was stubborn, swinging its cleaver without a care.

"Less talking, more fighting." Kaminari quipped, zapping the remaining small masked assailant. Now it was just the four of them and the two remaining villains against the masked giant. It was strong, but it was correspondingly slow to booth. They could pretty much run circles around the thing.

"We need one decisive blow." Shiozaki said with a frown, watching it snap the vinehairs around its arm with barely an effort. "Something that will fall the beast in an instant."

"Can't you make a cannon or something, Do-Anything Lady?" The boggle-eyed villain asked Yaomomo, throwing Quirk gusts of air at the giant.

"Not right now, and it seems smart enough to know I would try it."

"Yeah, any reason why it and the little guys are going only for you?" The bull-head grunted as the cleaver swing clipped the tip of his horn.

"I don't know."

"Like it matters!" Jiro grumbled, letting loose another blast of sound. The giant stopped for a moment, but resumed its trek shortly after. "Son of a- Kaminari, can't you zap it?!"

"I could, but it's a one shot only! If it doesn't work, I'll just get in the way!"

(Un)fortunately, the answer to the question arrived from the outside. A giant black hand stopped the masked assailant's swing in mid-air. The people present gawked at Nomu as it peered down at the cleaver-wielder before simply throwing them away, right into the wall with a sickening crunch. The beak-face watched the mask-face crumple, then slowly turned to regard the group.

And just like the masked assailants, it seemed Momo was a target of interest to the League's strongman.


	7. Winter Lantern

"Thank you for appearing so soon."

Kan nodded stiffly. Maria made no move whatsoever, regarding the little furry thing across the desk – the principal of U.A. - in complete silence. They weren't alone; a few more educators were gathered to review the proceedings. In a corner sat a police copywriter, prepared to write down the transcript of the discussion. There was a lot to discuss.

Though Nezu never stopped smiling, Maria knew better than to relax. There was a particular reason as to why she was called here. The reason she was admitted through recommendation – from one of U.A.'s own teachers, no less – went undiscussed due to how sudden the decision was. Now that the school year began in earnest, one could easily sit down and explain the situation in full. There was a lot to discuss.

"We will be using an automatic translator for convenience's sake. Is that acceptable, Miss Muradsilova?" Nezu asked, gesturing to a little robot on the desk, ambling to and fro. She nodded after a moment of hesitation, suddenly feeling the dryness in her throat grow uncomfortably. She briefly looked towards Vlad King, and he offered a reassuring nod of his own. It was unlikely U.A. would get rid of her so late in the year after she had already proven herself. This was just a technicality, to better understand just where a girl like her came from.

It wasn't a comfortable procedure, but there was probably nothing ill-willed about it. "Then let's get right to the brass tacks. You received a recommendation from Kan Sekijiro, one of our educators here at U.A., and that is not something we would treat lightly. We would like to understand the circumstances that brought you all the way here from Finland."

"_**I understand. Should I start from the beginning, sir?" **_

"If you please."

* * *

As it turned out, their temporary alliance wasn't worth shit.

Micolash was more than happy to let Shigaraki and Eraserhead duke it out – a fight that the up-and-coming villain was severely disadvantaged in. He wasn't the slowest, but he might have as well been running in jelly against his opponent. Eraserhead was a cool bean, nothing like All-Might, but Shigaraki soberly noticed he would be more impressed if he wasn't strung up in the air by that scarf right now.

"Marvelous! I am beyond impressed!" The NPC, naturally, did little to help still, even clapping in face of the spectacle. Aizawa shot him an annoyed look, no longer needing to keep his Quirk-erasing glare on Shigaraki with his wrists immobilized. He had a first row presentation when he turned one of his fibers to dust, and so decided not to take further chances. "They make you tough as a samurai even these days!"

"Don't think I didn't hear you mumble about having "business" with my students."

"Well, I'm not secretive about it." Micolash smiled ever so pleasantly. "Though I wouldn't call my business with them something they would regret. In fact, we believe—"

Aizawa didn't let him finish, closing in as much as the scarf would allow him, and throwing out a vicious kick. The cage-wearing scholar made a show of dodging with a flourish, surprisingly nimble for his outfit. He was tempting fate, coming closer to where Shigaraki was tied up, as if inviting Eraserhead to take more chances to hit him. The educator was more than happy to indulge him, and he still had yet to find purchase. Micolash made no effort at fighting back however.

"Majestic! Overwhelmingly appealing!" Aizawa had yet to figure out if the man was genuinely impressed or just taunting him with exaggerated praise. Micolash's cloaked lieutenant remained motionless where they stood, which honestly was concerning Eraser even further. "But can you strike true before the time is up?'

"The time would be up if you fucking untied me already…!" Shigaraki barked from his inconvenient spot… right before the black mist cut through the fibers and let him drop inelegantly to the ground. In came the Black Mist Man, regarding the situation critically. "Fucking about time." He growled, rubbing his freed wrists while still sprawled on the ground. "Stat rep, Kurogiri."

"**I am sorry to inform that one of the students got away." **Almost instantly the hand villain's eyes went bloodshot, seen even under the hand on Shigaraki's face. Slowly, he sat up and started scratching at his neck… and scratching… and scratching… Aizawa bit back the curse and let Micolash skitter away with a taunting chuckle as he focused his eyes on the two. **"U.A.'s reinforcements are likely to arrive soon."**

"Kurogiri… you'd be fucking dead if you weren't my ride home..." Shigaraki made a sound that could not belong to a human being, scratching to blood, and then some. "We were supposed to get in here, kill All Might, and be done with this fucking raid already! How can you let one fucking brat just leave like it's fucking nothing?!"

"Ah. You Heroes keep impressing me." Micolash hummed curiously from his spot. Aizawa glowered at the two still. He did hear something like Iida's engines above for a moment, so presumably he was the one that slipped past.

"And you, fucking…!" And suddenly, Shigaraki was as calm as a morning dew, picking himself back up and idly dusting himself off. "Well, doesn't matter. We've got the quest item already." Aizawa made a mistake of letting his eyes wander where the villain's went… right as the titanic Nomu came over with a haymaker, bowling Eraser over almost nonchalantly.

Before he lost consciousness from the sudden blow, he could only notice that the giant carried Yaoyorozu on his shoulder.

* * *

A little earlier…

"You must be out of your mind!" Jiro snapped angrily at the suggestion the boggle-eyed villain made. Apparently the giant beakface before them was _designed_ to kill All Might, so their group – students and two-bit thugs – could barely have a hope to slow the thing down, let alone defeat it.

So of course one of these bastards suggested that they leave Yaomomo to the wolves by having that "Nomu" carry her off. "Look, kid, that freakozoid will take your friend with him either way; but he can do it over our bloodied bodies or not!"

"That doesn't make it right!" Kaminari had her back, but Shiozaki and, more startlingly, Momo herself didn't look too sure of the idea. The vine-haired girl watched the giant approach passively, and it almost seemed like she had some kind of idea in mind…

"No… I'll go." The raven-haired beauty apparently decided to martyr herself, even though she looked terrified out of her wits, just barely keeping herself together. "It may not be right, but it is the only way to keep you safe."

"Yaomomo, I swear-"

"It will be alright, Jiro-san." Momo managed a wry smile, her eyes never leaving the slowly-approaching behemoth. "If they want me specifically, it's likely not because they want to kill me."

"How can you be so sure?!" The giant lumbered forward, now within arm's reach of the girl. The two villains cleared out of its way, Kaminari seemed rooted to the floor with fear, and Shiozaki still looked coolly at the monster, sat down on a nearby rock.

"I have to have faith." Something in Nomu's thoughtless expression seemed to brighten up, as if it found something amusing in Momo's words before it scooped her up with one arm, the grim like an iron vice. Jiro bit her lip in frustration and anger both, watching the giant sprint away with her friend in tow – only to notice a green vine creeping up the monster's ankle, growing from the ground.

"We can follow them to wherever this satanic creature is taking Yaoyorozu-san." Shiozaki said, one of her vinehairs piercing the rocky ground. "I suggest our wayward sinners come with, for their own good."

"Wait, are you serious?" Kaminari blinked. "Those two goobers?"

"If they have a change of heart, their overall sentence might be reduced. It's doubtful they will able to escape or come back to the League's good graces." The two villains looked at each other with apprehension before the bull-head nodded. "Very well. Let us depart."

"...God, I hope you're right, Shiozaki." Jiro picked up the previously discarded iron pipe and squeezed it, knuckles slowly turning white. "I hope you're right."

* * *

"Welcome again, Madam Yaoyorozu." Micolash smiled ever so pleasantly, his features partially obscured by the cage he wore on his head. Once she picked herself up from the ground, having been inelegantly dropped by the Nomu, she had enough poise to give the scholar a cool, bemused look.

"I see you are quite fluent in Japanese, after all." She hissed, stealing a passing glance at the unconscious Eraserhead. Mr. Aizawa seemed miraculously unharmed otherwise, but there was nothing she could do for him at the moment without the villains taking notice.

"Oh no, don't misunderstand. This celestial headwear" Micolash tapped the brass of his cage for emphasis. "grants heightened insight, enough to translate for both me and the others. If I were to take it off, we would probably have to switch back to English." There were still the League villains to be concerned about – the Black Mist man seemed impassive, but the very air around Shigaraki distorted with his murderous aura. "But now that I have you before me… ah, 'tis what spiritualists would call an enlightenment."

"Should have just raided a fucking soapland if you're that horny to put out..." Shigaraki muttered. Micolash cast him an incredulous look.

"Truly?! Mr. Shigaraki, you wound me! I am not a base creature you take me for."

"You know what you are? A fucking liar." Suddenly the air grew thicker with tension. Nomu was still motionless and soundless behind Momo, she realized, and felt a cold sweat run down her spine. "You were talking up you truce, and then you left me to get GG EZ'ed by Eraser there."

"Ah, please forgive me, I just couldn't help but marvel at the spectacle before me—"

"You know what liars don't get? Their ends of the fucking deal." Shigaraki straightened up. "Nomu. Grab the bitch." Momo was seized by the giant again, held up like a prize trophy in a single hand. Oh no. This was definitely not a part of her (admittedly desperate) plan. She expected an actual truce between the two villain groups, and an opportunity to distract them further while holding out for help. "So, you cage-faced NPC. Which side do you think her guts will pop out once Nomu starts squeezing?"

"...Mr. Shigaraki." For the first time since his appearance here, Micolash's easy-going smile vanished. "Don't push your luck. An honored deal will go a long way for you and the League."

"Or maybe you're fucking bluffing. I told you, didn't I? That I'm bothering to humor you is entirely on me. You don't get a fucking say in things anymore."...well, the villains were distracted still and the giant had yet to start turning her into a stress ball. Cold comfort, but maybe they could tear each other to bits first.

"..._listen here_, you snot-faced buffoon-" Shigaraki didn't give Micolash a chance to mount a retort, swiping his hand forward. All five fingers landed on the ornate brass… which started dissolving and turning to dust all around the incensed scholar. "No… no, no no..." Micolash swerved back, watching his headwear crumble to nothing all around him. Some of the ashes mixed into his hair, the other stained his robes. [What have you done…?] When he spoke, it was back in English.

"Sorry, NPC, can't understand you. Talk Japanese." Shigaraki chuckled almost lightheartedly, waving sputtering Micolash off before his glare settled back on Momo. "Nomu." The girl started squirming desperately, but it was fruitless to try and wrench herself free from the titanic grip – which was slowly but surely beginning to tighten around her body.

[You mustn't! This girl has been touched by the Moon!]

"Kurogiri, get him to shut up. I'm watching a snuff film here." The Black Mist man flicked his wrist at the scholar, the warp launching at breakneck pace. Momo watched with widening eyes as the Mensis representative was thrown away from the action to parts unknown, his face warped in primal rage. Before he disappeared, he cried out a single word.

[MARIA…!] And then he was gone. For a moment there was nothing but silence cut through by Momo's increasingly more frantic breathing as the grip tightened all over her torso.

"What a drag. I almost don't want to kill you at this point, missy." Shigaraki idly scratched his neck. The girl's eyes briefly lit up with confusion – and hope – before that too was dashed to the ground as the villain laughed with a wheeze. "But that's what Nomu's for." One of her ribs gave way with a horrid crack as she gasped out in pain, struggling in the grip once more to no avail. "I saw that flash of hope in your eyes. You think you can hold out until some big hero shows up to save the day?"

Another rib cracked and this time she screamed in pain and her eyes teared up, only vaguely aware that the cloaked lieutenant of Micolash's began slowly approaching them. "Tough shit. Even if this raid's a complete wash, we'll at least get some consolation prize. Imagine the look on All Might's big stupid face when we return him to you. Think he'll be fucking pissed~" Shigaraki cackled, obviously having the time of his life as he watched her struggle.

Third rib, another scream. "And about fucking time. That piece of shit hero society needs a big-ass wake-up call; and you'll be our alarm clock, one scream at a time—"

And then the singing started.

* * *

As U.A.'s educators mobilized out to USJ to combat the villain threat, Maria stayed behind, frustration welling up within her. She couldn't come to assist as a student, even though it was none other than the accursed Mensis making its way to Japan. Vlad King assured her they will get things under control, no matter what villain lurked in USJ right now, but...

1A's Iida's frantic relation left no room for doubt. Masked men of various sizes, a gaunt tall cloak, and Mensis's chief scholar, the madman wearing a cage on his head. Mensis was here, and something told her they were here for a specific reason.

...and if Mensis was here, it could have very well meant that the others would follow suit. And yen to peanuts, it was likely all of them were here because of her.

"Oh, there you are!" Maria's head startled back to see Setsuna approaching her. The school corridor had cleared out past the lunch break, so it was just the two of them. "...Maria? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"_**...USJ was attacked."**_ The lizard girl blinked, as if making sure that she wasn't being pranked, but no, there was nothing but absolute certainty on white marble's face.

"...holy shit. Isn't 1A having class there right now?"

"_**Iida broke out to let U.A. know. Teachers are en route."**_ But that wouldn't explain why Maria seemed so spooked. Sure, that was grim news – Setsuna could only hope 1A would be alright – but it almost seemed to her like the tall girl was taking the news personally. Make sure she's settled first, then fish for info, she thought.

"Alright. They're professionals. They can handle those villains, I'm sure of it."

"_**...I doubt that."**_ Well, _that_ was more than enough ominous. Setsuna shook her head and reached out to grab Maria's hand in-between her two.

"It will be alright. We have to believe it will be alright. Now come on, I'll sit you down before you pass out from stress."

"_**...I apologize—"**_ Setsuna tutted disapprovingly, slowly leading the taller girl back to nearby bench.

"None of that, Maria. Have faith, alright?"

The lizard girl didn't see the bigger picture, but she had to concede. At the moment, there was nothing that she could do but cross her fingers. If that All Might was as strong as everyone said, perhaps he would be able to defeat whatever monstrosities Mensis brought with itself to USJ. The other villain group was almost an afterthought for her. She had to hope.

But after Yharnam, it was so difficult to hope.

* * *

"...what the fuck is that?" Shigaraki clicked his tongue as he watched Micolash's cloaked lieutenant approach, carrying the distorted tune on its… lips? If he were to guess, it was something like a lullaby – but the glitchy reverb and the slight off-key to the voice made it anything but the kind of song that you fell asleep to. Unnerving. This was probably what people in the loony bin listened to.

"**Shall I warp it away, Shigaraki Tomura?"**

"It's… it's fine. Like I care for a shitty autotune." Shigaraki waved off Kurogiri with a casual look. If this was the cloaked figure's Quirk, there didn't seem to be any side effects to the thing. "Nomu, just pop her like a grape already." He groused at their beak-faced strongman. When there was no sound of a body being popped, Shigaraki swerved to face the creature. "You hard of hearing, big guy—"

Nomu was motionless, eyes fixated on the strange figure making its ponderous approach. Its mouth was slightly open as it stared as hard as it could. So was the bitch, Shigaraki noticed, but in her eyes there was abject terror. Her lip quivered and irises went to and fro without rhyme or reason. Nomu's grip on her loosened before she inelegantly dropped to the ground, but she made no move to get clear, as if paralyzed with fear.

The cloaked figure slowly shed its cover and Shigaraki's eyes bulged out in disgust. The thing was tall and gaunt, wearing what might have been some old-school dress once, but now became unrecognizable from the sheer amount of dried gore and overall wear and tear. Its hands were clasped together at the midsection, but fuck all of that.

_What the fuck did that thing have for a head?_ **"...Shigaraki Tomura. We should go." **He almost jumped, swerving to look at Kurogiri. It was rare to see the Black Mist appear so… disturbed. Sure, he wasn't the most expressive, but body language spoke a lot even without a face to even it out. Shigaraki looked back to The Thing, its pulsating mass of what seemed like a clump of aborted fetuses, to countless eyes bulging all over that nightmarish surface, to two huge arms growing out from the sides of its "head".

It _sang_. For a moment it felt like he could understand the lyrics before they devolved into garbled gibberish, the kind of noise that had no sense, that existed only to fry your brain. "Make it stop..." He heard the bitch whimper on the ground, and Nomu seemed to agree with the assessment, crooning like a wounded animal as it clutched its head in pain. The thing _sang_, and it was pissing him off.

"**Shigaraki Tomura-"** He launched himself forward as he ignored Kurogiri, feeling nothing but frothing rage. Whatever this fucking rare mob was, he was going to dust it and throw the ashes in Micolash's stupid face. Now if only that vine could stop getting in the way—

Shigaraki snarled in rage as the ground under his feet gave way and he flopped inelegantly onto the rocky surface face-first as his Father clattered to the ground. There was a length of thick vines wrapped around his left ankle and right wrist. The culprit: that Christian-looking slag in a white robe. **"Shigaraki To-" **Before Kurogiri could assist, the sudden suction brought his attention as he tried to resist it. Oh no. Talk about the worst possible time.

Thirteen was right there, keeping him in place with their Quirk. **"I won't let you!"** He shouted defiantly, ready to aim his Warp, only to suddenly find the suction dissipating, as if it was only meant to bring him in range… just in time for two of the students to leap forward, bowling him over. One of them wrapped a length of rope – wait, no, tongue? - around him while the other seemed content to just hold him down with his weight.

"We've got him, Teach!" Kirishima called out, eyes briefly wandering to where Shigaraki was just done dusting the vines keeping him in place. Shiozaki was smart to discard them fast enough – and just in time for an unlikely ally, one of the League thugs, to throw a gust of wind right into the ringleader and knock him off his feet. Betrayal might not have been manly, but the redhead was happy to see some of them turned over the new leaf.

"You piece of shit-" Shigaraki wasn't given the time to recuperate, a loud blare from Jiro's Quirk keeping him in place and drowning out that really weird and unnerving tune. A flash of green lightning – Midoriya was right there, leaping right under the Nomu stamping its feet in rage and confusion to grab Yaoyorozu and get her out of harm's way.

Yet, despite the chaos and the noise, the Thing's singing never ceased to be audible to neither her nor the Nomu as it ambled towards them, singing this terrible lullaby. The League's beast howled and dropped down onto its knees, clawing at its head, tearing out bloody chunks with no regard for its pain. Momo stared as her throat ran dry and her heart threatened to burst out of her chest in sheer panic, heedless of the fact that Midoriya just got her out of there or that he was talking to her right now, or that his leg was broken. There was only one point of interest now for her.

...there were eyes – countless, countless eyes – on the Nomu's brain.


	8. Nameless Moon Presence

It's been three days since "The USJ incident".

The Hero Society at large was on fire. To have not one, but _two_ villain groups (a rarity in these days to begin with) attack the most prestigious hero school in Japan, on their own ground, was nothing short of audacious. It was a spit in U.A.'s face. The ringleaders and most surviving members of the so-called "League of Villains" were apprehended (with special treatment for the two who decided to turn coat), but the mysterious ringleader of "The School of Mensis" vanished without a trace, and his… "lieutenant" wasn't much for talk to begin with.

It wasn't much of a physical threat; even once it did start getting physical from agitation, it couldn't hold a candle to the Nomu. As it flailed, more unnerving details about it were revealed: the numerous lamprey-like mouths under the decayed mass of flesh it had for a head, and how some of the eyes never stopped looking at Yaoyorozu Momo and the League's Nomu, even with its "face" in the dirt. Eventually, it stopped flailing and let itself be escorted out, almost docile.

Yet, it never stopped singing.

As far as casualties went, Yaoyorozu got the worst of it. Not only did she suffer several broken ribs – it was a miracle none of them pierced any organs – but whatever it was that the "Eyebrain" did to her still had an effect on the student. There was no Quirk at play, which was reason enough to worry all the more. Otherwise, the only other injury among students was Midoriya's (and self-inflicted, to boot). Aizawa was slightly concussed, on top of that.

The Nomu was determined as completely brain-dead after incarcerating it, its exposed brain pulsing with countless eyes blankly staring ahead with no real direction.

Still, this attack left many questions and not a lot of answers – and the media would not let it rest all too easily.

* * *

Setsuna sighed, looking out the window.

Currently in Mr. Kan's car alongside Maria – who insisted on joining the proceedings – it was her turn to show up at the questioning at the police's behest. She might not have been at the USJ, but other than Yaomomo, she was the only one who had a good look at Micolash the other day. And Yaomomo, well… she hasn't fully recovered from her injuries yet.

How did it end up like this? Just a few days ago she thought her biggest worry would be her Modern Lit homework. Now Yaomomo was in the hospital, Maria on tenterhooks, and the mire of Mensis in the air. One would think the other big shot villain – the one that could apparently turn anything he touched to dust, scary stuff – would be talked about more, but no, barely a footnote on the news bar.

She looked back to the white marble. Maria, in a button-up and waist-high pants, has been drumming her fingers on her thigh ever since they got in. Those faded blue eyes, normally almost unnaturally serene, now had more life in them than ever before – but it was a cascade of negative emotions shining within them, and Setsuna hated every shimmer of doubt and guilt that she saw.

Maria kept thinking it was her fault that Mensis showed up in the USJ to begin with, and she couldn't get her to drop that inane line of thought. The lizard girl even questioned Mr. Kan about it, but he didn't tell her very much other than that it was a "delicate matter". Not much luck there. "...hey… you okay there?" Still she had to try. Maria's fingers stopped and she turned stiffly to regard her.

"_**Yes. Am I bothering you?"**_

"Well, no. I mean, a little, but that's because _you_ look bothered yourself." Talk about an awkward conversation. Setsuna could swear she saw Mr. Kan shooting them an odd look in the rear-view mirror. "Chin up, Maria. You're not the one who's going to get grilled by the police." She tried lightening up the mood with a joke, but the white marble merely cast her a rueful look.

"_**I would much prefer it, honestly." **_She went on to ask Mr. Kan a few questions in a different language. After getting the response – now that she could hear it in detail, Setsuna concluded that their teach had a heck of an accent whenever he wasn't speaking Japanese – Maria nodded and looked out the window. The lizard girl felt her brow furrowing in frustration. She had to do something to take the white marble's mind off all this…

* * *

Somewhere else…

"I told you to go eat shit." Shigaraki hissed from his cell. His limbs immobilized in a way that would prevent him from decaying the cuffs, he found himself a target of questioning from the coppers. There were a few pro-heroes on standby too. No All Might, but the next best thing, looking surly from behind his giant fire eyebrows, filled in for him.

Truth be told, Shigaraki was willing to entertain the cops for a while. Yes, the raid proved to be a complete wipe, but the only reason that came to be was because of that lousy NPC and whatever it was that he did to _his_ Nomu. Sensei gave him the best Nomu on hand, and it was lost to some piece of shit singing a creepypasta lullaby. The itch on his neck was unbearable, and he couldn't even hope to appease it.

He could tell them all about the League, and his goal of shitting all over the Hero Society – but then they started asking about the cage-face, and all the goodwill on his part vanished. "That fucker is dead meat next time I see him." He snarled. "Not only does he steal _my_ fucking thunder, he wastes _my_ Nomu with some weird Lovecraft shit, and you idiots can't even capture him right!"

"Mr. Shigaraki, can you perhaps be more reasonable about it?" The lead copper – Tsukauchi, Shigaraki recalled – was doing a good job at being the "good cop" compared to Endeavor the "bad cop" leering at him from the corner of the room. "The more we know about this Micolash, the more likely we can capture him – which seems to be something the two of us want in equal measure."

"I told you already; he had a bunch of fuckboys in masks and that fucking… _thing_. He called it Maria." The League ringleader shrugged weakly. There _was_ something, now that he thought about it. "You know how an average villain wants to go against the grain, right? Fuck up the existing order of things?"

"Foolishness." Shigaraki felt something in his face twitch at Endeavor's first words since coming here. "You shouldn't kid yourself. You're just a punk with too much time on your hands."

"Big words from the world's biggest runner-up." He grinned when the fiery eyebrows creased in anger. "You don't know shit, Endeavor, living in your cozy Pro-Hero life."

"Back on track, shall we?" Tsukauchi sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You were getting at something, Mr. Shigaraki."

"The things I said? Uprooting your shitty glass tower? That cage-face wanted nothing to do with it. He said their group is above such things, the fucker. All he wanted was to put out with that titty bimbo." Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow. Eyewitness reports indicated that Micolash held an unhealthy amount of interest in Yaoyorozu Momo, but the reasons for that remained unknown. "Something about her and some other slag being "touched by the Moon" or some other shit."

"And you haven't the slightest idea of what that might mean?"

"The slightest." Well, at least they got something. Whatever "touched by the Moon" meant still eluded Tsukauchi, but perhaps these answers could be found in due time…

* * *

Momo looked out the hospital window.

The doctors haven't been able to tell her how long it was until she could leave. While her body was on the way of complete recovery within a few days, something about her mind left the hospital staff stumped. "Irregular readings", they said. She had some ideas what that could be, not that she wanted to think much about it.

The image of the Nomu clawing apart its eye-ridden brain was hard to forget.

Still, recent discoveries put her at ease, however slightly. Apparently the person who was turned into a Nomu had their mind scrubbed clean to become an ultimate muscleman, a blunt instrument with no will of its own. That made sense, she thought. If its brain was empty, then it must have been extremely vulnerable to… whatever it was that the strange creature christened "Eyebrain" did. Momo was _only_ paralyzed with fear, and fighting off an urge to vomit – no clawing her head apart.

...but then _why_ was that? The others present were unnerved and disturbed – except Shigaraki who instead turned even more homicidal – but everyone at the scene acted as if there was nothing otherwise extraordinary in this unsettling lullaby. Micolash said something about being "touched by the Moon", but this wasn't a riddle she found an answer to yet.

...why was that?

Two figures slid into the corner of Momo's view. "Hey, Yaomomo." Jiro greeted her with an uneasy smile. She was accompanied by Midoriya in the quaintest shirt she had ever seen; a plain white tee that simply said "Shirt". She would never peg him for someone with that high a level of irony. "How are you holding up?"

"On my way to recovery, I hope." She smiled at the two, taking a moment to have a sip from the mug nearby. "The doctors still can't ascertain when I'll be leaving the hospital, but my prognosis has been overall positive." She looked down at Midoriya's crutches. He broke a leg while rescuing her, but didn't think a moment of it. Granted, his Quirk did involve a lot of broken limbs – hopefully he would manage to figure out a way to limit his power output. "What about you, Midoriya-san?"

"Oh, this? I'll be fine, don't worry." As always, he offered merely a sheepish smile. "I should have the cast off in a few days. Still..." There seemed to be something bothering him, she could tell.

"Penny for your thoughts, Midoriya?" Jiro raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, I'm still worried about why the Eyebrain was focused on both Yaoyorozu-san and the Nomu. They couldn't be more different, right?" The only people outside of the hospital who were privy to the knowledge about the "irregular readings" were her parents and Mr. Aizawa. She's been cautioned not to mention that too often if she could help it.

"I don't really know what to tell you, I'm afraid." She shook her head with a sigh. "But, either way, I hope I can recover before the Sports Festival."

"Will there even _be_ a Sports Festival?" Jiro asked, idly playing with her earcord. "Two villain groups just strutting into the USJ have the media breathing fire down U.A.'s neck."

"Yeah, this is the first such a situation happened to the school." Midoriya nodded. "...but I guess they would want to show that they have things under control? If the security is increased, maybe if there's one of the top ten pros on the premises, it might keep people feel secure and confident."

"I mean, those League guys are done for" Momo couldn't help but notice that the green-haired boy shifted slightly on his foot, face strangely apprehensive for a second. "but the Mensis? They're nutcases. I wouldn't put it past them to just try and storm the arena."

"We should try and be optimistic." Momo smiled reassuringly, trying not to think what would happen if Micolash and his strange allies _did_ try to do that.

"Guess we should… you're amazing, Yaomomo." Jiro chuckled, shaking her head. "It's you who got the worst of it, and yet you're still so cool about the whole thing. Anyway, guess we'll be going. We've spent too much time here, others must be getting anxious." Momo blinked.

"...others?"

"Oh yeah, the whole class is here." Midoriya nodded with a grin. "Even Kacchan showed up. We're just walking in pairs to not cause too much noise. The nurses were already giving us a bit of a stinkeye..."

"Some guys from the 1B showed up, too. The lizard girl—"

"Tokage-san."

"and the lipless guy—"

"That's Honenuki-kun. Ow." Momo couldn't help but chuckle softly when Jiro bumped Midoriya with an elbow. So they dropped by to see how she was holding up? Nice of them to—

… "Did… perhaps a tall girl with white hair show up with them?" Jiro and Midoriya looked at each other in confusion.

"No one like that, no." Well, she might have been busy. Perhaps she and Mr. Kan had to take care of something? Maybe she just didn't deal well with seeing bedridden acquaintances? She could probably just ask Tokage-san and Honenuki-san once they came in…

* * *

Class 1B's preparations for the Sports Festival began poorly.

"You're in the way, extras!" Setsuna sighed, watching as a familiar sandy-haired asshole showed up, casting glowers and killing glares all over her class – as well as the other U.A. students that showed up at the doorstep. 1A became celebrities after the USJ, having fended off not one, but two villain groups. That kind of experience wasn't normally received even among third-years.

As Bakugo pushed not too gently through the crowd, she let her hand pop off and floated it over the commotion – catching an incredulous look from Kendo and a further incredulous look from 1A's octopus guy – and over to where she spied a fellow recommended student. Yaomomo seemed not at all bothered by the noise, just kind of sketching in her notebook, from what little Setsuna could see (after popping her eye off).

Once Momo looked up to see a floating hand, the lizard girl gave her a remote wave and a thumbs-up. Aw. That got a smile out of her, and even a little blush. At least she could lift her spirits a little. Ever since she left the hospital, she's been a little distant. Whatever happened to her at the USJ still haunted her, and it irked Setsuna that the best she could do for the girl was to joke around like that.

Still, small things also helped, didn't they?

"_**Excuse me."**_ A familiar voice reached her – and quite a few other people wondering who was the owner of such a strongly accented voice. To Setsuna's amusement, quite a few people also flushed red at hearing said voice. The crowd parted before Maria like the sea parting before a cruiser, hushed whispers and gawking present.

"Ah, Maria, perfect timing." Monoma, of course, was leading this scouting mission into 1A's capabilities. He and Bakugo looked about ready to throw hands, much to Kendo's – and that cute broccoli Midoriya's – exasperation. "Please explain to this explosive boor why 1B is supe-and she's not even listening." Indeed, the white marble instead beelined to Momo's desk with a few more "Excuse me"'s as she navigated among befuddled 1A's.

"Holy shit, she _is_ tall..." The earcords girl mumbled and Setsuna couldn't help but snicker a little. From what she could see, Maria leaned down to exchange a few words with the ponytailed peer, too quiet for her to hear. It seemed the two of them reached the consensus and—

She made a sound before she thought about it, and suddenly way too many eyes were on her as the lizard girl flushed in embarrassment. "...Finnish touch?" Honenuki popped up into view with a knowing smile.

"Shaddap right now..." The crowd parted again before the white marble, now holding Setsuna's severed hand with a slight smile. Oh God, that was extremely flattering and kinda hot, but didn't she realize _how it looked in front of all these people?! _"I, uh, I could get that back myself, you know."

"_**I simply figured I could give you a hand."**_ _...I cannot be mad at her_, Setsuna thought even as Maria reattached her hand back. Well, she still had to do the deed herself, but the gesture was nice. As the white marble leaned down to do so however, her expression shifted into something much more serious. _**"Meet me at eight in the evening, in front of the school gate."**_ ...this probably wasn't a date. Wonder if this was the news she passed to Momo earlier…?

"...oi, Sequoia. Who do you think you are, strolling in here like you own the place?" Oh no. It seemed Bakugo found a new target to glower at (Kendo currently dragging knocked out Monoma away probably had something to do with it), the crowd parting before him as he met them in the corridor. Maria met him with a cool look of her own.

"That's not a crime, last I checked."

"Can it, Skullface." Maria remained silent, regarding Bakugo with disinterested curiosity, like a big dog watching a small chihuahua try and pick a fight through a fence. "Well? You're just gonna stand there and make doe eyes or are you gonna fucking say something?" Nothing, silence. If Setsuna didn't know any better, she'd think the white marble is just doing this to piss him off.

"Bakugo-kun, don't antagonize our fellow students!" The 1A's class rep showed up, in all of his square glory, to try and reprimand the ornery bomber boy. Maria met his bespectacled gaze, and the two of them exchanged a nod before she turned on her heel and left.

"Yeah, you better fucking run!" ...except she wasn't going anymore. She didn't turn back to face him, but her step froze as if caught on a photo. The air itself grew tense and still as the crowd quieted down, watching the imminent confrontation. It didn't come to be, as Maria resumed her stride. But, before she went, she had one more thing to say.

"_**Everyone is a skipper in fair weather."**_

* * *

The last thing Setsuna expected at this mysterious meeting at night was Vlad King and his car.

"_**Thank you for coming."**_ Maria greeted her two peers with a nod. **_"Please, get in."_**

The ride wasn't very long, maybe fifteen minutes, but the destination was curious to say the least: they were going outside the city, to a protruding cliffside overlooking the hustle and bustle of civilization below. There was a single bungalow nestled on top of it, creating a rather picturesque imagery – but this likely wasn't what Maria had in mind when she invited them to join her on this evening excursion.

"I'll have to ask you to keep mum about what you'll see here." Mr. Kan spoke up, voice leaving no room for doubt. "This will have to remain a secret between the four of us." Setsuna and Momo cast each other worried looks. The teacher addressed Maria in Finnish again, to which she replied with what was likely a crisp "yes" and stepped out of the car, walking over to the edge of the cliff as she stared at the full moon hanging in the sky.

"Alright. Out the car we go." Yet, the three of them didn't join the white marble at the edge of the cliff. "Not yet," he said. Setsuna cast a brief look at Momo: nothing seemed to indicate she wanted to run for the hills. She looked back to Maria, who was speaking into the ether in the foreign language, eyes glued to the porous surface in the night sky.

...was the moon always this big?

...did… something just pass over its surface?

"_**There was a reason for your fevers back then."**_ She almost jumped when Maria switched back to Japanese, turning to face them. Her face had that rueful smile, the kind that both excited and terrified Setsuna – even if she was steadily leaning into the latter emotion as seconds passed. _**"Just like there is for Mensis to target you." **_The strange shadow on the moon grew and changed shape, and then…

And then it was here, and among them.

"_**...please, welcome my friend from the stars."**_ Maria gestured towards the hideous _thing_ that has just touched down as if it was landing after flight, and not just popped into existence next to them. It… well, Setsuna didn't really have words to describe Maria's "friend": it had no face, a mane of tentacles shaped into a "hairdo", and its body was nothing but an emaciated skeleton, its spine bending and twisting into shapes that couldn't possibly be human that split into several whip-like tails coiling around like a bunch of snakes. It was also the size of a small bus, which somehow was the least unusual of its qualities.

The fact that she was surprisingly at ease near it honestly worried her more than the monster(?) itself.

"_**Flora is my kindred spirit, of sorts."**_ Maria explained, as the creature with most misleading name imaginable leaned in to receive a headrub, like the world's most terrifying dog. **_"She has been accompanying me on my journey through life, through thick and thin of the cold Scandinavian fog. Through her spiritual caress were the two of you marked. "Touched by the Moon", as the Mensis madman would say." _**Setsuna turned to look at Mr. Kan, almost expecting him to snicker under his breath and all of this to be a huge, huge prank – but no, there was not a hint of levity to be found on his face.

"...what… who is Flora?" She heard herself asking, throat dry. Maria smiled thinly. "And why did she… mark… us?"

"_**Out of protectiveness. She thought you might have ill intentions, ever since you began accompanying me more often." **_

"...I… we were just hanging out though. Like, c-come on, why on earth would I or Yaomomo have ill intentions towards you?"

"_**A misunderstanding that I have explained. Too little and too late though."**_

"No good deed goes unpunished..." Mr. Kan sighed and shook his head. "Maria explained to me that you were fortunate that the marking happened when the moon was at its weakest, in waxing crescent. You only got off with a fever." He let that news hang in the air for a time, not opting to continue.

"...what about Honenuki-san?" Momo asked, her expression steady and firm. Setsuna had no idea how she managed to have it in face of… well, this faceless creature, but she was envious of her composure. "He is still a part of our group, isn't he?"

"_**Only women are subject to the marking. I would not have thought that Mensis would find you however, in this sea of men." **_The white marble's expression turned thoughtful. **_"Fate, perhaps. A wrong roll of the dice."_**

"...we can't tell him about this either, can we?" Setsuna asked.

"It's best that only those involved know." Mr. Kan said. "Previously it was just me, but since the two of you got tangled in this mess, you deserve to know the details."

"...yeah, right, t-that's fair..."

"_**As for the "who"…"**_ Maria smiled ruefully once more. **_"Flora is what most of this world would refer to as an "extraterrestrial": an alien and a guest to our not-so-lone island in space."_**


	9. Preparation

Maria's staying place was quiet and quaint.

Setsuna idly took in the interior of the cliff-hanging bungalow. A lot of it was old-fashioned, in that weird Victorian slash Steampunkish aesthetic, right down to some old lady curtains hanging in the window. A closer examination revealed them to be adorned in rose motifs. The whole place looked like it belonged to someone much older and mature than her tall peer – though thinking about it, Maria was probably the most mature of all first years. Or the one who made the best impression of maturity, anyway.

After saying goodbyes to Flora – apparently the "alien" couldn't stay around in "its material form" for long even on full moons – the four of them stopped for tea. The lizard girl already got a text from her parents, asking just where on earth she was at this late an hour. After assuaging them with a not-so-true message that she stayed up late at a friend's place to study (not necessarily _false_, she was learning a lot tonight after all), she returned just in time to smell the pleasing aroma coming from the antique porcelain teapot.

"_**Emperor's Bride. My favorite."**_ Maria explained with a slight smile, pouring everyone a cup. For a moment nobody said anything as she took her seat next to Vlad King, across her recommended peers, with a fancy coffee table between them. _**"...Master Kan, sir. Is it fine if I explain the whole situation to them?"**_

"You already introduced them to Flora. It can only get more mundane from here." Vlad King replied with a hint of amusement, watching Setsuna and Momo cast uncertain looks at each other. Maria nodded sheepishly.

"...so… the reason why you're here, then, rather than in a Hero School in Europe?" The ponytailed girl was first to ask. The white marble nodded again, regaining her composure. "...if you think we deserve to—"

"_**Naturally." **_O-oh. Momo felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

"I-if you say so then."

"You can probably just tell them what you've told the faculty." Vlad King spoke up. So the school staff knew too? Made sense. Maria mulled over those words for a bit before shaking her head.

"_**...no, I think they should hear the full story. If… they want to, of course." **_

"Why wouldn't we want to?" It was Setsuna's turn to speak up, and put on a reassuring smile of her own. "...look, all of this is still a lot to take in, but I like to think we're somewhere between "friends" and "good friends". And friends look after each other, even if things get ugly. Whatever you'll tell us, we'll be behind you."

"_**I wonder..."**_

"Have just a little faith in us, Maria."

* * *

Somewhere else, in a darkened alley…

"Aren't you quite bored with stabbing this corpse?" Micolash tilted his head questioningly, watching the man sink his katana in the body of a pro-hero for yet another time. The killer is silent, choosing to ignore the madman who walked up to him in the night of the hunt, neither villain nor hero.

Stain would be content with a single stab, but these regeneration types could be tricky to finish off for good. The last thing he needed was for the not-quite-dead fake to strike him with his back turned. That could come later. He would not be dying to a half-assed "hero" anytime soon. "I can see from here he's well done, my good man. I'd say you're just entertaining yourself at this point."

"What is your business with me?" Stain rasped at the madman. Micolash tapped his cage – a new one, freshly molded from divine brass after the last one was so tragically lost to Shigaraki's childish tantrum – thoughtfully.

"What is it indeed…"

"_Before_ my patience wanes, old man." Ah. So behind that intense, malefic glare there was a hint of understanding. Though out of the two of them it was the infamous Hero Killer who looked much older – no doubt a result of self-inflicted deformities – Micolash had behind him numerous lives worth of knowledge. "I do not kill civilians, but if you continue getting in my way—"

"Ah, but I am here as an ally. A curious researcher, if you will. Mr… Akaguro, wasn't it? Your Quirk interests me, for lack of a better word."

"What of it?"

"Quirks based on blood are the purest of powers bestowed upon us frail mortals. Blood, this lifewater upon which creation itself is based… through it, ascendance opens before us base critters of the earth."

"I don't donate to cults."

"Cult? You wound me, Mr. Akaguro." Micolash laughed softly. "We are researchers, scholars, _scientists_, dare I say. We seek transcendence from the shackles of mortality."

"Then there is nothing left to discuss. Be on your way."

"Surely there's—" The knife came out in a blink of an eye, the sharp combat blade embedding itself in the wall an inch from the scholar's head. Micolash blinked, aware that his entire life just flashed before his eyes. He barely even saw it being flung. "...compelling argument, that."

"Good. Away with you, old man." Stain watched the weirdo skitter away for a time before digging his blade one more time in the definitely dead pro-hero's body before going over to retrieve the knife. He already entertained the whackjob for far longer than necessary, but something told him this wouldn't be the last time he would see him. Whether this Micolash would be so benevolent on their next meeting remained to be seen, but Stain was adamant that nothing he would say would sway him. His was a decided path.

And if he had to cut down a cult of madmen on his way, then so be it.

* * *

"Tokage. Eyes on me."

Setsuna blinked, watching Monoma snapping fingers in front of her face with an annoyed look. He wasn't the only one looking at her, though others seemed more concerned and confused than anything else. "Look, if you need to take five, then do so. We can manage the planning without you." The blond continued, concern seeping into his voice as well.

"I'm… fine. Just lost in thought, is all." Setsuna shook her head. "Carry on. Where were we?"

"Monoma said that we should throw the race." Tetsutetsu groused. "Which is super unmanly, let me remind you."

"It's not "throwing the race", it's "preserving our strength". Look, most of 1A are overachievers. They'll go in guns blazing and try for the first place."

"Yeah, because they want to look good. You know, for the internships?" Honenuki countered with an annoyed look of his own. "If we slack behind, no one will give us the time of day."

"T-to be fair..." Komori piped up quietly. Setsuna's protective instincts flared up full force. If there was one way to bring her attention back to speed is to focus on the cute mushroom speaking for herself. "The race has l-lots of contenders. The entire first year, i-in fact."

"Komori's right. There are only, what, forty two places to qualify to the second round?" Awase nodded. The mushroom girl blinked and shrunk a little further.

"That's n-not what I wanted to—"

"I mean, if we stay in the middle of the pack, that should work, right?" Shoda pointed out. "Some of us will get closer to the top, some of us will be a bit in the back… just make sure all of us can get in."

"Forty two is exactly our two classes and some two guys from other courses." Kaibara hummed. "I'd rather not get anywhere near Mr. Bomberman and his Icecream buddy, so hanging back works for me."

"I doubt Bakugo-san shares the spirit of companionship with anyone in his class but himself." Yanagi sighed, shaking her head. "Let alone someone he perceives as a rival."

"Lil'deavor I can get" Setsuna hummed, getting a few of her classmates to snicker at the nickname. "but what's his deal with Midoriya?"

"Wait, I thought his name was Deku." Tsuburaba blinked in confusion.

"No, it's just an insult Bakugo calls him with." Kendo shook her head with a frown. "Means 'useless'."

"I did hear him ranting something about how De-Midoriya is a "quirkless loser" the other day..." Manga piped up, his speech cloud filled with the emoji of thought.

"Dude literally breaks his arms whenever he punches shit." Awase shook his head incredulously. "He could probably give All-Might a run for his money with how strong he punches."

"Apparently he's a late bloomer." Shishida hummed. "Which, while rare, isn't impossible."

"Imagine having such a fragile ego that you can't get over the fact a guy finally got his Quirk..."

"Can we not talk about Bakugo, thank you?" Kodai groused, rubbing her temple at the growing headache. A few people gave her odd looks, surprised at a sudden burst of verbosity from the normally taciturn brunette.

"He'll be gunning out for the first place, so we can not pay him any mind for now." Monoma nodded. "...speaking of not paying any mind, just where is Muradasilova?" The normally hard-to-miss tall presence was indeed nowhere to be found in class. Everyone's eyes wondered to Setsuna and Juzo searching for an answer.

"Last I've heard she went over to the support course." Honenuki nodded, idly tapping his chin in thought.

"Support items for someone who's not using a Quirk?" Kamakiri raised an eyebrow. "Like what, a batarang?"

"Don't be rude." Komori bumped him with an elbow. "...t-though I guess I'm kind of curious too..."

"Any guesses, Tokage?" Awase peered over to the lizard girl.

"I have a few, but they're a little out there..."

* * *

This was the first time Power Loader saw Hatsume look genuinely stumped.

"...a sword?" She repeated, blinking at the tall hero course student from 1B. Dang, was she tall. She's heard stories, but seeing her up close was something else – but now all this excitement for prospective development (just how much gear could she outfit her with?!) was dying away with this blunt question.

Well, she was kind of flattered that someone would go to her with even something as mundane as a simple sword, but… _**"I have the necessary recipe and materials listed out here."**_ Maria explained, gesturing with the piece of some _really_ ancient parchment. Did she want her to cast it in an Edo-age smelter or what? _**"I have been told that you are the most gifted of the support course—**__**"**_

"Aw, sheesh, making me blush here..."

"_**and I already have both Master Kan and the Principal's clearance for it as well." **_

"If you don't mind me asking, Muradasilova, what is the sword for?" Power Loader decided to sate his own curiosity. "Your Quirk is something like Vlad's, right?"

"_**To an extent, yes."**_

"Oh, you mean like a ritual blade to flashily spill blood with?" Hatsume suggested, oblivious of how suddenly the hero hopeful went tense at the idea. "Well, if you want an equal copy of what you got tucked there, then I'll give it my all. Maybe spruce it up with some extras… alright, fine, don't let anyone say that Hatsume would shirk from a challenge! Let's see your baby!"

...right. This one was just overly excited, likely meant nothing wrong by her statement. _**"To answer your question, Professor Maijima, I suppose it would count as a vanity project." **_Maria explained, unrolling the ancient scroll on the table. Already was Hatsume looking all over it, nodding and humming to herself as she assessed the specifications of the blade. **_"If Quirk usage of mine comes to be, the blade will not aid it in any fashion."_**

"Okay, this is looking more and more interesting by the second..." Hatsume muttered to herself. "Who made the original, by the way? That's the kind of design a two-bit artisan wouldn't figure out..."

"_**I am afraid to say that I do not know. These blades came to my homeland before my time, and stuck with those few who were not swayed by more standard of designs."**_

"Well, if it's a vanity project, then Hatsume can handle it in her spare time." Power Loader nodded. Normally he'd shoot that kind of thing down, but the Principal's approval was hard to deal with. Nezu worked in mysterious ways, sometimes.

"_**Understood. Thank you for indulging me. Though..."**_ Here Maria turned to look at the support prodigy. **_"Please do not add anything unnecessary to the design."_**

"Aw. You sure? If I slapped some engines into the main core, you could have remote blades for cool points—"

"Hatsume." The pinkette pouted slightly, then shook her head.

"Alright, alright. But only because you asked so nicely, got it? And..." Her smile widened slightly. "there's something you'll have to do for me as well." Maria tilted her head in confusion.

"_**What is it that you need?"**_

"Welllll..."

* * *

"Hey, Tokage. A moment?"

Setsuna looked up from her phone. The day was over; all that was left was to go home and prepare for the next one. A week away from the Sports Festival, the class as a whole had yet to decide on their course of action: whether to follow Monoma's school of thought or rather go all-out right away.

"Hm? What's up?" As always, she and Honenuki were taking the same train home. The lipless boy seemed thoughtful himself, and she could think of a few reasons why.

"Is everything alright?"

"Peachy-keen, why?"

"I don't know if spacing out at least ten times in class counts as peachy-keen."

"I, uh, just had lots on my mind recently."

"Concerning Maria?" Honenuki was nothing if not perceptive. She hated that she had to weasel her way out of this, to not tell him what's been eating at her. Yaomomo seemed better composed than her, at least. _Just try and play it off_, she thought, forcing a chuckle.

"Told you I'm in gay hell. What about you?"

"...Setsuna, for crying out loud. Don't change the subject." She looked away, biting her lip. She really wanted to spill. Honenuki was a friend, and he was far more composed about things than she was. Maybe he could even figure something out to make things easier slash better? Something, anything?

"...it's… well, we've been talking a bit recently. She shared some secrets from her family life." It wasn't entirely false, but she still felt dirty, making this up as she went. "Personal girl stuff, you know." Honenuki cast her a look that told her he saw right through this little deception. And yet, he didn't press on. For a moment none of them said anything.

"Maybe you guys should just… go out somewhere?" Setsuna blinked at the suggestion. "I know, I know, that's quaint stuff. But hey, if she's feeling down – and you too are feeling down that she's feeling down, don't even deny it – then that's one way to bring her spirits up."

...it wasn't _that_ easy, but perhaps it was a good start. Damn it all, wasn't she Setsuna Tokage, the party-going socializing soul of the conversation? This moping had to go! And she would invite Yaomomo as well, and all the other girls from class! And hell, maybe even 1A girls too, while they were at it! "...well, someone's suddenly fired up." Honenuki chuckled, watching spirit of socializing manifest in his friend once more.

"...you know what, Juzo? I needed that pick-me-up." She nodded with a grin. If there was one way to get Maria – and herself – to stop thinking about the grim north, and the crazies who wanted to mess things up, then a pleasant distraction might have been it. Even if that Mensis thingamajig was around the corner, so was every other villain in the streets! If they cowered before every punk, what were they even doing in a hero course to begin with?!

"Also, for your information, Awase's kinda cute."

"Thought you'd be more into Kuroiro." Honenuki chuckled.

"I might have been if he wasn't a shameless chuuni." The two of them shared a laugh. "So yeah. Just invite her over for a coffee or something."

An invite Maria would get.

* * *

_T-Rex added 6 contacts. _

**Magical Mushroom**: o:

**Kung-Fu**: tokage-chan? what's up?

**T-Rex**: figured we can make a girls' chat

**T-Rex**: been thinking we could go hang out

**Spooky Girl**: Tell us more, reptile planner.

**T-Rex**: hope you guys can help out here, don't have anything in mind ^-^;

**Rodeo**: shopping?

**Magical Mushroom**: actually there's this cute maid cafe near the train station

**Beegsmol**: voting for the maid cafe

**Kung-Fu**: dunno, sounds like a small place

**Kung-Fu**: will we all fit

**Magical Mushroom**: it should be fine (ᵔᴥᵔ)

**Magical Mushroom**: they've got this fancy victorian aesthetic too, so maria-chan should like it too

**Beegsmol**: maria is only sama

**Spooky Girl**: She is yet to respond however.

**Rodeo**: oh, she training

**Kung-Fu**: training?

**Rodeo**: kendo :)

**Kung-Fu**: pony?

**T-Rex**: oh, kendo as in sword training

**Rodeo**: :)

**Kung-Fu**: well, now i feel stupid

**Magical Mushroom**: thought the same thing, you're fine c:

**Rodeo**: yeah, saw maria at training hall

**Rodeo**: thrusting wooden sword

**Rodeo**: super fast!

**Beegsmol**: wait you don't thrust in kendo, do you

**Spooky Girl**: Not to my knowledge, no.

**T-Rex**: i'll go get her

**T-Rex**: how does saturday afternoon sound?

**Rodeo**: ok :)

**Magical Mushroom**: 4 pm?

**Kung-Fu**: sure thing

**Beegsmol**: same

**Spooky Girl**: Fine enough.

* * *

Setsuna had a couple of ideas why Maria would be sword-training out of the blue.

For all she knew, she could have been doing it daily, but given the recent developments… and here she was trying to not think of all these horrible implications. Still, she set out with a purpose in mind. "Maid cafe" might not have been her first choice, but she did ask for input, so… anyway, back to business! She would get the white marble to lighten up just a tad, even if it killed her.

...well, maybe not that far.

She slipped into the training hall, devoid of people but Maria herself, in her full hero getup. It seemed she was taking this shadowboxing (shadowslicing?) session one hundred percent seriously. The tricorne hid her face in a faint shadow as she stared ahead, the wooden blade raised in her right hand, the cutting side on top. Her left was behind her back, and the unseen enemy before her.

Setsuna knew that Maria trained in swordplay for several years now, but it was one thing to hear about it – and another to see it in action.

The first blow came with but a flick of the wrist, the blade swiping down diagonally. The lizard girl forced herself not to blink, barely able to keep up with the blinding speed as more slashes – no doubt powerful enough to carve a training bot in two, but never clumsy or brutal – followed. Maria's movements were like a dance, a fast-paced chorus of movements. Whatever adversary was in front of her, she never lost sight of him.

The wooden blade suddenly swerved, as if she was deflecting an attack – and then her left hand came in, thrusting forward with savage ferocity. Unlike the blow that felled Kamakiri at their first Combat Training class, this one was meant to kill; her fingers were open as if to rip into flesh, and tear out a huge chunk on the way out. Setsuna felt a chill down her spine. Maria was as beautiful as she was deadly.

She told them all about the dangers she had to face, first with her fellows, then on her own, finally with Mr. Kan.

Maria shook off the imaginary gore and followed with another flurry. Each single movement could have been shown as an exemplary action pose in a drawing manual. _Manga would go gaga over this_, Setsuna thought, herself feeling like she was about to go gaga in her spot. The white marble was incredible. She knew that already, but seeing yet another confirmation of the fact was something else.

Some part of her had to remind the lizard girl the amount of sweat, blood, and tears that came with the fact.

Maria suddenly stopped, making Setsuna tilt her head in confusion before she realized: the thin hairtie that normally held her tall peer's ponytail up came undone during one of the flourishes. The white marble grumbled, muttering under her breath as she took off her tricorne and bent down to pick it up.

Oh lord, was she even more beautiful with her hair down.

* * *

A quiet clatter in the corner of the training room alarmed Maria to the presence of another.

She looked up sharply, cursing that her hair was getting in the way at such a vulnerable moment – but there was no danger, only curiosity. It was Setsuna, her jaw on the ground as she stared blankly at… her?

The awkward silence persisted for a time. Slowly, the discarded part floated back to the lizard girl's face, now accompanied with a growing blush. **_"Ah. Hello."_**

"H-hey." Another moment of silence. "N-nice… uh, nice moves."

"_**Thank you. I… have not touched anything like a sword in a while. I am still a little rusty, I'm afraid."**_

"I wouldn't be able to swing it without tripping my own two feet." Setsuna giggled nervously, skipping a few steps forward. Just play it off as being in awe of her ability. "S-so, wanna go out?" _oh goddam__m__it _

"_**...beg your pardon?"**_

"I m-m-mean, I've, uh, ahaha, er..." _dammit, Setsuna, get a grip_ "just wanted for us girls to have an outing, is all."

"_**Just the two of us?" **yes _

"Oh no, all of us 1B. Maybe invite Momo along, too." God, was she ever grateful that Maria was utterly oblivious to any signs of infatuation. Setsuna hoped she was, at least.

The white marble smiled slightly. **_"I would not mind it, I suppose. I just don't think I am much for such outings."_**

"Well, you won't know it 'til you try it, right? We'll need someone cool and serious to balance us out."

"_**Cool, you say?"**_ She seemed vaguely amused about that particular word. Oh. Right. From up north. Nothing like a pun to dig oneself deeper. Still, she got better about recognizing them. Setsuna distinctly remembered Maria's confusion when Kamakiri was quipping to her back at the mock battle. _**"When shall we go then?" **_

"Saturday, 4 PM? We hashed it out in the group chat, too."

"_**I shall have a look. I hope you do not mind if I take a while to reply. I am backwards with technology." **_

"Oh no, don't sweat it. We're just happy to have you." A beat. "I, uh, guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"_**Tomorrow it is."**_


	10. Fellow Hunter

Casual outings were a novelty to Maria.

Cainhurst was a rigid society lost in time, countless eons behind other civilizations; a blood-soaked snowglobe hidden deep in the North. People there were divided into castes, and by castes did they live. Inter-caste casual interaction was largely unthought of, especially the kind that Setsuna proposed to her yesterday. Still, Maria was nothing if not flexible, able to adapt herself to the new conditions relatively easily.

Now if only the Mensis could stop menacing her and her peers…

It would behoove her to look presentable; thus she settled for a necktie and a vest, a selection of muted colors of the earth brightened up by the brooch pin at her neck. Adding a jacket would probably be too festive. At first her plan was to shorten the sleeves of her shirt, but as she assessed her scarred arms, marked with claw, tooth, and steel, she came to a conclusion: her peers… friends, she hoped, needn't see this.

It was fortunate that today was a day off. Dressing up a touch was nice to do once in a while. Plus, at least it wasn't a rigid dress with an uncomfortable amount of cleavage...

* * *

If Maria hadn't shown up like she did, Kinoko might have thought she was being overdressed.

Expressing herself to her peers was still something she was working on. Everyone in her class was friendly enough, even the intimidating-looking Kamakiri, but through her own insecurities, she couldn't always capitalize on that. Plus, her Quirk of controlling mushrooms and her desire to become an Idol Hero did not gel very well with her peers back in the middle high. Some doubt remained still, even as she picked out her polka dot dress, cut in a cute lolita fashion – Kinoko's favorite.

Pony was the first to show up and already did her heart sink – the half-American girl wore an anime tee of all things. The blonde fancied the dress, at least, but goodness: would she just stick out like a sore thumb? As the others arrived, that feeling was only exacerbated; between Yui's simple turtleneck and skirt, Setsuna's T-Rex tee, and Itsuka's leather jacket-sundress combo, it was beginning to look like a lost battle.

"We just need Yanagi-chan and Maria-chan at this point." Kendo hummed, checking her watch.

"Honestly, that you can call her -chan with a straight face… I'm kinda envious." Setsuna chuckled.

"Indeed. Maria is only -sama." Yui piped in with an ever correct assessment. The lizard girl laughed a tad nervously. "Will Yaomomo come?"

"Sadly no. Family business, apparently."

"She's amazing." Kinoko sighed. "Back on her feet so soon…"

"That's a recommended student for you~"

"Tooting your own horn, Tokage-chan?" Setsuna snickered, hoping that her concern remained unfounded by the others. Momo herself said she was fully recovered, but that could only be tested if Mensis attacked again. But enough about that. She didn't need those worries, other didn't, and Maria sure as hell didn't. A text provided a welcome distraction. "Looks like Maria and Reiko will be arriving together shortly."

"Oh yeah, I see them!" Pony said, attention at a road nearby. It seemed the white marble was descending down the pavement – but not quite alone.

There was a Reiko on her shoulders, piggybacking with the most color class B had ever seen on her face.

"_**Apologies for our tardiness."**_Maria, decked out like she was going to a school prom and not to a casual outing with friends – Setsuna heard Kinoko breathe a sigh of relief for some reason – greeted the group with a nod. Reiko remained silent, trying and failing to hide most of her face behind the taller girl and the collar of her own wider turtleneck. _**"We had to deal with Reiko's sprained ankle."**_

"Oh dear. Are you okay, Yanagi-chan?"

"Y-yes. Just… well, slightly embarrassed." The Poltergeist user replied quietly. "I stumbled over a cracked pavement."

"_**She insisted to go even in spite of her inability. We treated the wound"**_ Maria gently took her off her shoulders and onto a bridal carry – which predictably made Reiko even redder in the face. There indeed was a cold compress wrapped around her left ankle, the sleeve of her pants slightly rolled up. **_"and then had to deal with patrolling heroes that seemed to have found something untoward in our conduct."_**

"...that might have qualified for some kind of PDA..." Yui hummed.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Setsuna frowned, watching as the white marble gently set Reiko down on the ground and how the Poltergeist girl winced upon having her feet touch the ground – and curbing the irrational sense of jealousy brewing inside of her. "Better to carry her than if it were to go worse. The festival is only a week away."

"Well, the better thing would be to stay at home, I think… but I'm happy you came, Yanagi-chan." Itsuka smiled slightly, offering a helping hand to replace Maria's. "It's a little flattering."

"_**Is the cafe far from here?"**_

"Oh no, not at all." Kinoko smiled, her shiitake-shaped irises flashing slightly. "I'd be happy to lead you guys there."

* * *

"_**I don't know how I can take to being called "Mistress"..." **_

While the maids working the cafe referred to all female patrons as "Mistresses", it was obvious some of their group took to that differently. Setsuna wouldn't say she saw Maria blushing, but the white marble was almost cutely flustered still. "You are a bit of a mistress, aren't you?" Yui, in particular, seemed to enjoy teasing the tall girl about things like that.

"No need to tease her like that." Itsuka chuckled softly. "I imagine maid cafes aren't exactly commonplace in Finland."

"_**I would not say so, no."**_

"Well, how do you find this one?" Kinoko, uncharacteristically confident and energetic – not that Setsuna minded, quite the opposite – piped in with a smile, taking the menu cards from the maid waitress with the cutest set of dog ears under the sun and dispensing them between her peers. The cafe offered a fairly standard selection of snacks, but the magical atmosphere of the place made one forget about it as they got embroiled in the Victorian clime.

"_**Quaint. It has a charm.**_" The mushroom girl beamed happily at Maria's confession. **_"It is a bit of a nostalgia trip, I suppose."_**

"How do you figure?"

"_**Cainhurst was a bit behind the times. We might not have had maid cafes, but actual maidservants did attend most socialites of the castle."**_ The white marble explained, looking down at her coffee. _**"I suppose the getups of those maids were somewhat more conservative, though."**_ Her eyes trailed briefly to one of the waitresses's skirt.

"It still feels weird to hear about, honestly." Kendo hummed thoughtfully from over her own coffee. "It's almost like a whole another world."

"_**I… suppose I cannot argue with that."**_ Maria's gotten better at pretending not to be tense in casual conversation, but so did Setsuna get better at reading the tall girl. Considering what she'd been told a few days back, she could see why Itsuka would make that comparison – and why the white marble wouldn't take kindly to it.

Pony, bless her soul, changed the topic after a moment of awkward silence. "Excited about Sports Festival?" She asked.

"_**Not particularly."**_ It wasn't the response any of them expected – even Yui and Reiko wanted to strut their stuff a little bit – so Maria decided to explain her sentiments in detail in light of surprised looks from her peers. **_"I understand that the purpose of the festival is for pro-heroes to scout out prospective interns, correct?" _**

"I mean, it's not like it's just us and 1A there." Setsuna shook her head. "The main purpose is just to go beyond, really. There's nine other classes who probably don't care for anything but a good time."

"There's also all kinds of tournament-unrelated stuff." Kinoko nodded. "...but it still doesn't explain why you wouldn't be… uh, interested."

"_**I have no intention of taking an internship."**_ Silence. Maria felt her brow furrow in both confusion and frustration.

"...why?" It got so bad, even Yui's earlier teasing all but disappeared. The white marble wished there was some grand reason behind her decision, but the truth was such: no pro-hero could give her the kind of education Master Kan could. Since he was an active teacher in U.A. however, he could not offer internships of his own. Maria finished her coffee with an annoyed look. All of them knew what her Quirk was, too; was it really that strange?

"_**I am no hero material." **_

"I do not believe so." Reiko shook her head resolutely. "I cannot understand your reasoning, but I am certain you could be an excellent hero if you wanted."

"_**What makes you say that?" **_That gave the Poltergeist user pause, as it did all of them. Setsuna felt Kinoko shrinking in her seat, as if sensing that the good mood they had was going away, and offered a hand for her to squeeze for reassurance. **_"Why do you think I am a hero material?"_**

It's such a simple question, and yet the girls at the table besides Setsuna struggled to think of an answer. As they did, the lizard girl and the white marble exchanged glances. Neither of them said anything. "W-well, what are you doing at the Hero Course then?" Kendo flinched once the question left her lips, realizing it might have come off as rude. "I mean..."

"_**It was Master Kan's recommendation. A course this intensive would help me refine myself and put my mind at ease." **_

It took her a moment to realize she didn't mean to say that last part out loud. "...are… is something troubling you, Maria?" Kinoko asked quietly, vaguely aware that Setsuna next to her went stiff as a board for some reason. For the first time since coming here, the white marble looked to be at a loss. "I, well, er… if you don't want t-to talk about it, that's fine… just, well… if we can help you in some way..."

"_**I appreciate the sentiment, Kinoko, but this is something I must face on my own. Please, do not worry about me."**_ She couldn't win this battle. Opting to slowly shuffle out of her seat and rise to her feet, she offered her peers a weak smile. _**"I should get going. Thank you for your time. Can I trust you to get Reiko home safely?" **_

"Maria..." Pony made a small, sad noise. The white marble flinched, but didn't stop, offering the group a goodbye nod before she excused herself, watched by six pairs of eyes. For a moment no one said anything.

"...should we… go after her?" Yui suggested, a little uncertainly.

"We shouldn't be too nosy..." Reiko sighed, but it was obvious she wasn't very enthused about her own words.

"Any idea what's eating her, Tokage-chan?" Setsuna's first instinct at the question was to jump out the window, but she calmed the roaring thoughts well enough, offering Kendo a weak shrug. "Sorry for asking you, but… you and Honenuki-kun are basically her best friends in class."

"Oh no, don't be sorry. It's just… I wish I could tell you." _I wish I could tell which of the horrors she witnessed, she took part in, was the one that shook her the most.__I wish I could offer actual comfort beyond platitudes, beyond a simple "I'm sorry"… _

Their class rep took the growing anxiety on her face the wrong way, but for once it worked out in Setsuna's favor. "I didn't know it ate at you too."

"Well, she _is_ a good friend. Still, she should be fine." The lizard girl sighed. "I just hoped that we could use this outing as a diversion, you know. Just to hang out."

"I'm sorry… that's my fault, I-I-I picked the maid cafe..." Rather than let her blame herself, Pony simply offered Kinoko a hug. The mushroom girl squeaked in surprise, going as red as her dress.

"No one's fault." The blonde shook her head resolutely.

"Yeah, we all agreed to it anyway." At least there wasn't much movement in the cafe, so no one gave them odd looks, but Kendo still felt a little uncomfortable. "...should we head out either way? It is getting a little late, and we still need to ferry Yanagi-chan back home."

"...sorry about the trouble."

* * *

There was fresh, untainted blood in the air.

Her time spent in Cainhurst and Yharnam helped her refine the sense of smell. Or, perhaps, both places were so blood-soaked it just became second nature to recognize what were tainted dregs of the beasts and what was pure lifeblood.

A small amount she would choose to ignore, but this was no small amount. This was the kind of blood spill that involved grievous injury or death. This was a calm neighborhood, nearby the most prestigious Hero School in Japan. Who would be reckless enough to commit grievous, life-threatening crime so close, with the evening only starting to set in? Then again, it did not stop the League of Villains, nor did it stop the Mensis from tagging along. Maria was aware how it was supposed to go: she was supposed to notify the Pro-Heroes and stay back herself. She was a student, with no power. She didn't have her Hunter outfit nor did she have Rakuyo.

And yet, whether disturbed by her moment of exposure against her peers at the cafe or simply morbidly curious, she walked into the alleyway from where came the scent of a dying woman – and another, scent of self-righteous rage. She wasn't afraid, she didn't run. Whoever was being killed in that alley was beyond help.

Only from this distance could she hear the wet, squelching noises of a knife being dug into flesh. One final thrust, the knife sunk in the throat of the fallen Pro-Heroine, and the murderer rose to meet her, hunched over the corpse as if interrupted from a cannibalistic meal. Tall and gaunt, with a mane of wild black hair, the jagged red scarf, not unlike blood, a long headband made from a frayed bandage…

A black combat suit, self-made, a katana of a familiar design, knives upon knives hidden in seemingly the most impossible places… and an aura of malice, pure and focused. He looked at Maria with little surprise, cold and analytical despite the feral first impression he gave out. She saw people like this man before – and they were allies as often as they were enemies.

It seemed the nightmarish man did not deem her a threat – but he was still cautious, understandable enough. "Who are you supposed to be?" He rasped, assessing the strange woman (teenager?) at a blade's length. There were no weapons on her nor did she look to be hostile, but anyone who would approach him so brazenly, in the middle of the hunt, had to be mad like the old man from a few days back – or have a plan.

"_**No one of notice." **_She trailed her eyes down, to the victim. **_"Has this woman slighted you?" _**

"She was a fake. Someone who would take on a mantle of a hero without understanding what a hero is supposed to be. She chased fame, fortune, and glory." A man on a mission, then? Maria hummed noncommittally. The man was a true believer – or perhaps he liked the sound of his voice too much for it to be healthy.

"_**Are you a villain then?"**_ The way the man shifted and his body tensed ever so slightly, it seemed being called such was a sore spot for him.

"A necessary evil. Fake heroes, self-serving villains… I dispose of both. I suppose the latter are smart enough to stay hidden from my wrath however." The man straightened out and looked the girl – she could not have been older than eighteen despite her height and the intensity of her look (a fake-in-the-making?) – in the eye. "What brought you here, girl?"

"_**The scent of spilled blood. 'tis rare, in this civilized world, especially when blood is spilled with purpose like yours."**_ Stain shifted slightly, giving in to curiosity. The girl was… different. She was not defiant or terrified, she neither attacked him nor ran away. She spoke of spilled blood being what lured her here, yet there was no excitement or revulsion to be found on her face or in her voice.

It felt as if she was recounting something from her past through his presence. _**"Carry on with your hunt then, and afford the woman here the decency of a funeral." **_And now she was acting as if she was letting him go rather than being a sheep meeting a wolf, in its own den to boot. There were way too many disturbed people bothering him in recent days – but intuition told him that recalling the old man to her would bring more harm than good. He had no use or taste for killing children, even if they were growing to become his prey. All he could do now was to retreat and plan his next hunt.

"You are an odd one. What is your name?" Still he gave in to curiosity. Perhaps that was the plan all along – the girl hoping to distract him with small talk while other fakes closed in on his position to try and capture him. Yet, Stain dismissed the possibility soon after it came to his head. No, there was no such thing here.

"_**Maria. I have a feeling we shall see each other again, fellow hunter." **_The girl's lips quirked up just slightly in a thin smile. **_"And, perhaps, you will entertain me with a clash of blades for a sporting spar."_**

Once he left without giving his name – somehow, it seemed the girl had no idea who he was and neither did she pry for it – Stain realized what seemed so strange and familiar to him regarding this "Maria". The same quality was possessed by the old man.

Mind and demeanor that belied physical age.

* * *

Tsukauchi had to force himself not to snap his pen in half.

Hero Killer just claimed another victim, so short a way from U.A., and the one who found the body ended up being none other than Maria Muradasilova. He met the girl during an investigation of the USJ Incident, and quickly found her to be surprisingly insightful on the matters concerning the School of Mensis – if disturbed by her adamant belief the group had to be scoured clean from this earth. According to Vlad King, she had prior experiences with the madmen.

Now, these two things wouldn't have much in common – beyond the girl's uncanny ability to attract mystifying problems – if an eyewitness report from a few days back didn't speak of Mensis's ringleader hanging nearby a place where one of Stain's earlier victims was found.

There was some connection between the Hero Killer and the Mensis, and Tsukauchi dreaded to see just how far that rabbit hole went. For now he had not to balk at the calm, unnervingly calm relation of her meeting with Stain. She was among the only people who had any meaningful discussion with the man, however brief; sadly, there wasn't much that could be discerned from it beyond confirming Stain's motive.

Muradasilova's past was considered confidential, available for reviewing only for the U.A. staff – which raised almost as many questions as her ability to stay composed against a hardened killer like that.

"_**If I may, officer..." **_

"Yes? Do you have anything to add, Muradasilova-san?" Tsukauchi watched the tall girl look thoughtful for a moment. Then, something of a guilty expression flashed on her face.

"_**Should I have tried to stop this man?"**_

"No, of course not. Considering the circumstances of your meeting and the fact that you are but a freshman student, you did the safest and most rational thing you could have done." The officer shook his head. "You could not have predicted that you would meet a villain, and his victim was already dead by the time you arrived. There was nothing more you could have done." Judging by the unsure look on her face, she might not have agreed with the assessment right now.

"_**Officer, I… how many people did this hunter claim?" **_That was another thing that bothered Tsukauchi, how Maria referred to Stain as a "hunter". She described him as such during the first hearing and he could kind of see why she would use that word – especially since her grip on Japanese still was a little slippery – but now it seemed as if the word held some special meaning to her.

First he wanted to ask her about it, then to try and dodge the question. Yet, something told him she would not let up – and after surviving a meeting with someone like Stain, she deserved that much. Vlad King told him she didn't keep track of the news feed very much to begin with. "Seventeen dead and twenty two crippled pros." Maria did not respond, only settling for a terse nod. "I'll stress again, you did all you could. Stain's a dangerous man who had fought off pros with years of experience. That you survived is the most important."

* * *

The next day awoke Maria with a pulsing headache.

Whatever was going to happen in these next few days, and she just knew she wasn't prepared for it in any shape or form. The festival was around the corner, the eyes of the public bound to watch her and her peers intently, like birds of prey. All the while she had to think about the sheer disbelief on the other girls's faces when she laid it bare how little heroism mattered to her.

Heroes were only needed whenever a tragedy struck, after all.

Vlad King didn't give her an earful, but perhaps he should have all the same. It was like a hero hopeful to butt into problems – but she didn't come to that alley to save or stop anyone. She came because the waft of blood awoke something in her – something shameful, yet nostalgic and longed for. For a moment she wasn't in a Japanese suburb, but amid the corpses of beasts, fending them off to save both herself and the hapless old man who survived the plague for this long.

The man turned either way.

...by the stars, she had half a mind to tuck herself in and skip the day – but that was just unbecoming of her (and it would result in getting an earful for certain). Shuffling out of the bed, she slicked her hair back and took a deep sigh. Just because she didn't see herself a hero material did not mean she could afford to slack in the course. And who knew? Perhaps she would find some meaning in this mundane regimen of life. It certainly made for a more exciting fate than being stuck with being an accountant or a waitress.

So locked was she in her thoughts, she did not notice nor expect Setsuna tacklehugging her before class.

"I was so worried!" She really was worried; this was certainly the first time Maria saw her so distressed, holding onto her blazer tightly as if she was about to disappear. "I saw the news, I thought my heart would jump out of my throat…!" But Maria wasn't used to such situations either. No one held so much concern for her, or at least not so outwardly. Master Kan learned from the best to measure emotions, and so did she learn from him.

But, at the end of the day, she was still supposed to be a teenager, wasn't she? _**"I apologize. 'twas not my intention to give you or the others a fright like that."**_ She winced slightly at how stuffy her response was, but it seemed to have worked just fine: Setsuna looked up at her with a wry smile, blinking away tears.

"Look at you… just treating it like it's nothing..." Her smile lessened slightly as she stepped away, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I should have known this would be nothing to you. It's just…"

"_**Please, you needn't explain yourself."**_ Maria replied, trying to sound soothing. **_"I shall be more careful in the future either way. It's only natural to exercise caution, isn't it?"_**

"Right… I'll take your word for it." Setsuna sighed. Boy, was she grateful this was early morning and no one was here to see them. She'd probably still throw herself at Maria either way, but at least no one would give them lip. "Just… please make sure you hold yourself to that? I don't think I can take spitting my heart out the next time like that..." Maria tilted her head slightly.

"_**...did you… actually do that?"**_ The two of them stared at each other in silence. Setsuna finally broke the ice with a little giggle, shaking her head.

"Come on, let's get to class. The Festival's just around the corner – and even if you don't care for the internships, you'd still want to give you all, wouldn't you?" Healthy competition? Yes, she could do that.

"_**...I suppose I would."**_ A faint smile danced on Maria's lips as she followed.

* * *

**It's been a bit of a slump. I'm not overall pleased with this chapter - it feels like it's all over the place, and not just in intended ways.**

**But, with it out of the way, we can finally segue into the Festival, and maybe things will become lighter now that I can stick to the established formula for now. Time for Maria to actually fight someone for reals, and for Mensis - and other relevant factions - to start moving properly.**


	11. High Speed Marble

The Sports Festival was something else.

As It turned out, ten classes worth of freshmen, all decked out in U.A.'s sportswear, made for quite a crowd of personalities and characters. Even as Maria stuck out of the 1B crowd and attracted looks from fellow competitors and audience both, she did not let it bother her, merely examining the stadium where the festivities would occur. The torches were lit, like on the ancient depictions of the Olympics – competitions of athletics and fitness of the bygone days, when powers like Quirks were mere fantasy.

She caught sight of Hatsume waving excitedly at her from what presumably was the Support Course group, and returned the wave with a slight smile. "Look at you, making waves in different classes." Setsuna teased her with a light bump of an elbow.

"_**Mei was willing to humor my request, is all." **_

"Is it what I think it might be?" Maria tensed ever so slightly before nodding. The lizard girl offered a reassuring pat on the shoulder – by detaching her hand, of course. "Right. I trust you know what you're doing."

"Ugh, what's this guy's deal?" Kaibara grumbled, eyes trailing to one of the General Course classes. Maria looked there too, appraising the wild mane of purple hair and a look of a perpetually tired academic, leveled at them with a sneer.

"Hm? Oh, that's Shinsou." Setsuna hummed. "He showed up once Kendo carried Monoma's unconscious butt back to class."

"Don't remind me..." Their Class Prez sighed wearily. Somewhere, the copycat flinched ever so slightly.

"He's got a bone to pick with hero courses, from what I've seen. Straight up walked to Master Exploder over there" Setsuna gestured vaguely towards 1A's group. "and declared war."

"...I don't know if he's a complete idiot or just that brave." Kuroiro groused from behind them. Maria hummed noncommittally, meeting Shinsou's look for a moment. Whatever this trouble was, they could certainly figure it out in due time. "Right. Now Mr. Bomberman has to make a grand speech for the opening."

"Wait, why him?"

"Scored first in the entrance exam."

"That's not fair. I didn't know you guys get special privileges." Setsuna chuckled softly.

"As long as he doesn't say something stupid..." Kaibara's eyes trailed over to Shinsou and the rest of his class, all of them intently staring at the Explosion user casually strolling out from his group, hands in pockets and the most disinterested look on his face. The podium was ready, with Midnight overseeing the stage. The lizard girl shifted in place, sensing the tension in the air. Everyone's eyes were on Bakugo right now.

The Explosion user tapped the mike with a disinterested look. "I pledge… to be number one of this festival." Setsuna blinked, then she blinked again and looked towards 1A's mortified expressions. It seemed their rival hero class knew exactly what Bakugo would say. Predictably, the stadium – both the audience and the competitors – erupted in an outrage, completely ignored by the number one of the entrance exam.

"Dude, calm down..." Tsuburaba looked helplessly at Tetsutetsu furiously gnashing his teeth with sounds not unlike a car crusher. Pony had to keep a bristling Kamakiri in place, too. Shamefully(?), Setsuna was torn between indignation and amusement. From what little she knew about Bakugo, that was just about the thing he would have said – and given his track record, apparently had a good chance of delivering on a lofty promise like that.

Maria hummed curiously. "Got something in mind, Maria?" Setsuna asked.

"_**This gauntlet he threw… I think I'll go and meet it." **_

"Well, I don't mind you giving your all."

"_**Even if circumstances may pit us against each other?" **_

"...I'll deal with that as we go."

* * *

The first order of business was the race.

They were to run four kilometers worth of an obstacle course, beginning at the stadium exit and circling around. Maria recognized the first difficulty of the race easily enough – there wasn't enough space for all groups to move through the exit smoothly. Sadly, the only liberty they were allowed right now was to pick a position in their group only. Non-hero courses were up in front – likely to give them some semblance of the fighting chance.

It was only now that Maria noticed that Mei was positively outfitted with all kinds of equipment. _**"Is that… allowed?"**_

"Apparently support course students can bring whatever they made with themselves." Monoma hummed in response, a critical eye assessing how different the pinkette was compared to her peers – if only because she was the only one wearing any gear to begin with. "I guess Hatsume's a risktaker, field testing her equipment in an event like this."

"_**What about the others?" **_

"Please. Nobody but her kids themselves that they can go past the first round if they're not from the hero course." Despite the scathing words, the copycat's tone was far away from smug. "The entire event is skewed in our favor, just like the entrance exam is skewed towards dumb flashy Quirks like Bakugo's. Whoever performs best is most likely to catch the eyes of the pros for the internships."

"_**And you still plan on staying in the back?" **_That got Monoma to smirk.

"The only part that matters is the finals. Everything else is just to tire you out." She wasn't there when 1B planned how to approach the race, but Setsuna did tell her the class was divided between wanting to give their best (while not getting too close to 1A's powerhouses) and taking it easy. It wouldn't have mattered much to Maria – but with the gauntlet thrown she had to pick it up.

Something about Bakugo rubbed her the wrong way, and she wanted to make sure he would not see his pledge fulfilled.

Thus, once the countdown ended and the race officially began, Maria forced her way forward with purpose, not as much running as striding through the crowd parting before her. Those that would not do so, she had more direct means of coercion for.

"_**Welcome aboard."**_ She hummed with a slight smile, feeling not just Setsuna, but Kinoko latch onto her. The mushroom girl squeaked and mumbled an apology, but the lizard girl was unapologetic with her giggling. Maria didn't expect it any other way, trying not to smirk to herself at Monoma's indignant scoff from the back.

The three of them picked up the pace, leaving the chokepoint behind and immediately getting introduced to the next obstacle. "Holy shit, are those giant robots?!" This time it was Setsuna's turn to be indignant, sizing up the veritable army of metal menaces – the infamous Robo Inferno. The robots actually came in all shapes and sizes, but the three giants towering over everything else definitely had most people's attention. One of them craned its neck at the first group of the arrivals.

"**TARGETS SIGHTED… LOTS!" **It announced with a mechanical reverb, elated to find new victims. Predictably, most non-hero course students were thrown into disarray already, and even a few of hero hopefuls didn't look too sure of themselves right now.

"They brought _three_ Zero-Pointers…?" Kinoko's voice was even smaller than the usual. Maria frowned, beginning to think that recommendation students might have had it a touch easier compared to the ones who took the exam. Not that it stopped the big unknown of the recommended group, charging forward with a look somewhere between disinterested and annoyed.

As if to make a statement, the giant iceberg smashed right into the encroaching Zero-Pointer, cutting it in two neat halves. Todoroki was off at the lead, leaving behind himself the wreckage of a giant robot for the rest of the competition to contend with. Quite a few of them weren't stopped – even as Maria navigated between smaller bots with catlike grace, she spotted Bakugo, Mei and another 1A student simply fly over the robotic villains – but otherwise it was complete chaos from the word go, especially since Todoroki was resourceful enough to freeze the rest of the competition in their tracks too, to varying results.

"_**Hold on tight."**_ Neither Setsuna nor Kinoko had to be told twice – nor did they have time to wonder how Maria was managing to go through the ice with such ease, leaving behind the whole metallic ordeal. They were up there among the leads – though still nowhere near Todoroki or Bakugo. It was a straightforward run now, and in that the white marble seemed to have few equals. They caught up to Mei easily enough.

"Hey there! Showing off, Lady Maria?" The pinkette greeted them with easy-going whimsy, not at all phased bout the two passengers on the tall girl's shoulders.

"_**Am I? You're the one who made light of the robots over there." **_The Support Course's genius beamed proudly.

"Hover Soles and the Jet Pack~ A perfect duo of babies for that kind of situation." Setsuna eyed the clunky boots on pinkette's legs. Made sense these were some fancy tech. "So, you two are from Maria's class? Need any babies for your hero work?"

"A-are you throwing us a sales pitch in the middle of the race?" Kinoko stammered, looking behind. Most of the other competitors were en route to meet them, using their Quirks to catch up. Their class's Honenuki and 1A's Iida seemed to be the frontliners of the effort.

"Well, y'all gonna leave me in the dust soon, so might as well! By the way, how good is your sense of balance, Maria?"

"_**Decent enough, why?"**_

"Good! Have fun with the tightrope ahead!~ And remember you owe me a dance!"

"She owes you a what?" Before Setsuna could get an answer for her question, Mei slowed down, seemingly on purpose – and let the other challengers contend with the Maria Train. "No, wait, she owes you a _what?_"

* * *

_This is nice, _Shinsou thought from atop 1B's Yeti guy.

While he did decide to take a page from Tokage and the other girl's handbook, it ultimately boiled down to luck. He managed not to get stuck after Endeavor Junior flexed on every other competitor and even then Shinsou avoided getting heckled by the villain bots. He had just enough time to see the back of the giant three-person-express before Hero Courses started catching up.

Luckily, one of the challengers was Shishida, who came with an added perk of turning into a convenient mode of transportation. Even more luckily, the others didn't stop to check why their peer had suddenly stopped stiff after the brief exchange of words with Shinsou – but with his bestial power and agility, keeping in the qualifiers should prove easy enough.

He could only really show off in the finals – so that was the task ahead, to go that far. If nobody decided to pull the rug from under them and cut the number of qualifiers, top forty two looked like a plausible proposition.

...here was hoping the obstacles ahead wouldn't prove too much for a brainwashed yeti.

* * *

So far, the race was proving trivial enough for Shouto.

Taking to the pole position was easy enough once he squeezed through the crowd – making generous use of that tall 1B girl's passage – and then it was nothing but smooth sailing. Neither the robots nor the ice would hold his peers for long, but all he needed was a victory, not a crushing one (no matter what his old man would say). A victory achieved only thanks to the ice part of his Quirk.

Bakugo was always going to be competition, but even he was a fair distance behind – which was unfortunate, because The Fall was something that was bound to slow Shouto down, unlike the Explosion user who could just fly over the damn thing. The whole course was rigged for flight-enabling Quirks, really. Well, no matter. He could keep his grumbling to himself – all that he needed to do now was to cross the chasm.

Which proved easy enough, but he had competition right on his tail. "Feelin' chilly, Half-n-Half?!" Bakugo barked right behind him. Shouto threw the ice wall behind him without looking – not the best option, since the Explosion user just skimmed past him and returned the pleasantries with a blast to the face, timely blocked by another small iceberg. "Maybe you should use that fucking fire of yours!"

Don't get riled up. There would be time for that. Bakugo pulled ahead, blasting away – he could catch up to him easily enough. No sight of Midoriya, so he could cross that off his laundry list… but not the aforementioned tall girl clearing the chasms on foot with childish ease, while carrying two more people on her back to boot. Sure, he might have been handicapping himself, but he had something to prove – the sight of someone doing that for kicks irked him.

Well, whatever. Even a titan like the tall girl must have had a limit to her stamina, especially with extra weight on her shoulders…

* * *

While this wasn't how Setsuna envisioned her participation in the race, fuck, was the feeling of wind in her hair amazing.

"Yikes, Todoroki looks shroo-miffed!" Kinoko squeaked as they closed in to the Fire-Ice user. There was something of a war declaration on his face, even as he stopped wasting time and set off after Bakugo. There was a whole lot of them being passed around recently. "...also, h-how on earth are we in the top five?"

"_**Would you rather I slow down?"**_

"Heck no! You're the best, Maria!" That got both the white marble and Setsuna to chuckle in unison. "...I'm still sorry for leeching off your s-success like that."

"_**Nothing for it. It makes things interesting, at least." **_

Both Kinoko and Setsuna expected their traversal through The Fall – a series of rocky platforms connected only by tightrope and with a looming chasm underneath – to be much slower than this, and certainly not that Maria would ran across it with no difficulty at all, perfectly balanced in spite of the two of them – of fairly different sizes – throwing off her stability.

There was a lot of confused screaming, mostly on the mushroom girl's part. "Man, I'm not sure how can they top that..." Setsuna muttered quietly, idly looking back to see the others clear The Fall at varying degrees of speed.

"H-hey, don't jinx us!"

"I mean, we've had giant robots _and_ a bottomless pit! What are they gonna throw at us next, a minefield?!"

"_**...there is one ahead."**_ Indeed, the last obstacle of the race sprawled ahead. Bakugo and Todoroki were having a fight in the middle of the minefield, managing to avoid setting off any on their way to the finish line. Their pace slowed down quite a bit, but without any drastic measures, they would be shoe-ins for the first two places.

"...kick my jinxing butt later." Setsuna stammered, holding onto Maria tighter at the very telling sign that the white marble wasn't slowing down despite the _minefield_ stretching before them. "So, uh, what's the plan?"

"_**We run through this minefield."**_

"D-d-do you accept constructive criticism?" Kinoko squeaked.

"_**Hm?"**_

"T-t-t-that plan sucks." Maria chuckled despite the criticism – and didn't slow down in the slightest. "H-hey, seriously, um…!"

"_**All that I ask is that you keep those two and other challengers off us." **_A tall order, but they weren't the ones brazenly running into the minefield. **_"I shall be your chariot to victory."_**

* * *

Midoriya had a plan.

It wasn't the best plan in the world – frankly, it was just short of suicidal – but it was the only plan he had. If he were to even dream of reaching the top ten, let alone to win the race against such competitors as Kacchan or Todoroki, he had to be smart. He got through the Robo Inferno, he pulled through The Fall – all that was left was the minefield.

A minefield full of stun landmines that were here to throw people off by the huge knockback they produced – but what if that knockback was used for mobility instead?

Thus, having dug up enough of them to make a stash, and with the piece of a Villain-Bot to use as a board, All-Might's new protege threw himself forward, letting the course do his job for him.

As it turned out, the fight for the lead was a little more crowded than expected. "Cute broccoli incoming!" He recognized the voice of 1B's Tokage as he flew above the grand total of five competitors, three of them traversing in a group. The tall one – Muradasilova, was it? - had her eyes on the track the entire time, stepping around the mines with catlike grace.

As he passed by to the first spot, he realized that she was outpacing both Kacchan and Todoroki, even with the other two girls on her back. "Oh fuck no! Get back here, Deku!" His childhood friend was the first to shake off the stupor, blasting away in hot pursuit. "And get the fuck out of the way, Sequoia!—"

What followed was a floating hand punching Kacchan right in the throat.

Izuku couldn't afford to look back, trying to focus on the track ahead – and not a litany of curses and explosions – mines setting off – in the back. Just like that, Kacchan got set back a number of places. Todoroki was still there though, and Muradasilova was not slowing down in the slightest. The Fire-Ice user pulled on ahead, shielding himself from the attacks thrown by Tokage and the other girl. He would catch up soon enough.

Which was something Izuku had to rely on for this next stunt to work.

Yet, before he could get to it, his own throat grew uncomfortably tight inside. Midoriya choked and stumbled, passed by Todoroki and then by the trio – wait, no, he was hanging in mid-air now. "Hey, sorry." He heard the unidentified girl's sheepish voice. Huh. It seemed Muradasilova was holding him by the scruff of the neck like an ornery puppy.

...what? "Try not to swallow too hard, but, uh, there's a shiitake mushroom growing in your throat right now." Oh. O-oh. "It'll go away soon enough, but, uh, once we stop I'll treat you to a lozenge, a-alright?"

"_**Kinoko insisted we carry you as recompense for suffocating you like so." **_Izuku shuddered at the thickly accented voice, even with the knowledge that she wasn't looking at him right now. **_"Considering you almost blew us and Todoroki up to kingdom come, a "thank you" might be in order later."_**

"Come on, Maria, don't rub it in." Tokage snickered, idly looking back and listening to the encroaching litany of curses and explosions. It seemed Bakugo wouldn't be able to outpace neither Honenuki – who's been trailing in the top ten the entire race – and 1A's vinehair girl at this point. Oh man, serves him right. "He would have won if we weren't around here to mess things up~"

Izuku finished fifth, behind Muradasilova, Tokage and Komori.

* * *

Bakugo was, for lack of a better word, furious.

It was bad enough that Deku one-upped him in this cheap, shitty way, and bad enough that Half-n-Half got away with a clean win – but then some 1B extras showed up to get in his way. Before he could properly recover, the top ten was closed for him. That, of course, was rankling Bakugo something fierce.

Sequoia and her lizard girlfriend made it _personal_ now. Bakugo didn't lose. Losing was for chumps and wusses, for not-so-Quirkless lying nobodies like Deku. That he had to be carried to the finish line like a shitty chihuahua was a cold comfort to Katsuki at best. He could dismantle that slimy nerd in the second round, then show both Sequoia and Lizard the what-for in the finals.

After all that bile in his mouth, Half-n-Half would be an almost pleasant conclusion.

* * *

"You alright, Shishida?"

1B's Vice Prez – ranked 20th in the race, not half-bad – blinked at the question, turning to look at Tsuburaba (32nd). "You look like you left the oven on."

"What? Oh, uh… don't mind me. I'm just..." It felt strange to admit, but Shishida's memory of the race was… spotty. He recalled himself talking with the General Studies guy, and then… nothing, with only vague recollection of running and jumping. He came to at the landmines, but Shinsou was in the back, trying to catch up with the others. It was eleven spots that separated them, after all.

"...you sure you're okay, man?" Awase (12th) raised an eyebrow.

"...yeah, I think I just… I probably ran myself ragged and that's why I'm blinking out like that."

"You think it's the fur?" Shoda (30th) asked. "It's probably trouble to run when you heat up with it on." Some eyes went towards Kuroiro (34th), the other premier recipient of attracting too much sun. The vantablack boy shrugged.

"No, I think Shinsou pulled a fast one on you." Monoma (38th) shook his head, eyes trailing to where said General Studies student was, currently just kind of standing by and trying to ignore Natsume (35th) trying to get him to converse. "I'm guessing his Quirk can let him take control over the other's body." 1B boys shuddered. That was a prime villainous Quirk right there.

"So… some kind of brainwash?" Awase asked uncertainly. The copycat nodded.

"Shinsou's been riding on your back the entire time, Shishida, at least until the minefield. Guess some kind of decisive force is needed to knock the brainwashed guy out."

"He'll be less able to use that power in the next round, I hope..." Kaibara grumbled, watching the rankings. Muradasilova carried Tokage and Komori to the top five basically by herself. Apparently the lizard girl got to punch Master Exploder in the throat so hard he fell out of top ten though. Talk about a performance.

"Should we… tell the others?" Tsuburaba suggested uncertainly.

"Certainly. Just make sure 1A doesn't know." The group groaned once Monoma's true colors resurfaced for a moment, a devilish grin and all.

* * *

Momo (18th) was, overall, displeased with her performance.

Her fellow recommended students showed their ability in a resounding display of dominance. Todoroki won, Maria and Tokage were right behind him, Honenuki just a few places further back… meanwhile, she barely cleared the top twenty. What went wrong with her run? Did she overuse her Quirk and lose some of her stamina? Was she not determined enough? Were other competitors simply more spirited instead?

She wasn't just a recommended student either; she was 1A's ace. She had to act like it. "Something eating you, Yaomomo?" She almost jumped, hearing Jiro (33rd) approach her.

"Ah, um… n-not particularly. Just mulling over my performance, is all." The earcords girl hummed in amusement. Momo realized this might have been a sore spot for her classmate. "N-not to say you underperformed or anything..."

"Don't sweat it. I'm happy to get to the second round, is all. You shouldn't worry about it either."

"S-shouldn't I? I could have done better..."

"All of us could. Well, other than Todoroki." Jiro offered a reassuring smile. "You'll show them what you can do in the second round, and in the finals, too." Oh. Was she suggesting she would make it that far? Momo felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Well, now she couldn't afford to fail that expectation, could she?

"Wonder what they'll do for the second round..." Kaminari (24th) piped up with a slight head tilt. "Tried picking 1B's brains, but the blondie over there all but hissed at me."

"Yeah, Monoma's got a bone to pick with us for some reason." Jiro nodded, eyes trailing over to Uraraka (19th) gushing over Midoriya's (5th) performance. Then there was Bakugo (11th) looking this close to exploding from sheer indignation. "I'd be more worried about the Tower of Japan over there though." She gestured towards the runner-up, standing head and shoulders above her classmates.

"Well, if nothing else, 1B's not lagging behind." Kaminari hummed, looking over to the giant roulette wheel spinning on the giant screen beginning to slow down, little by little. It skipped over "Cavalry Battle", it passed languidly over "Capture the Flag" and finally stopped… at "Dodgeball".

Some distance away, Setsuna's eyes shone with utter glee.


	12. Dodgeball

The rules of dodgeball were simple enough.

Two teams, twenty one people each. Forty one balls to throw, divided evenly between them. The team captain who picked a first team member had to contend with having one ball less. Quirk usage was permitted for everything except directly attacking the other side. Balls stopped by Quirk effects would not count as foul and would become anyone's to pick.

To spice things up, each player was assigned a point value based on their performance in the race. Starting from ten points for the last two – who would be team captains – and growing all the way to two hundred for the second place. The first one had a special bounty on their head – ten thousand. These points – added to their performance in the match – and the vote of the unseen jury would decide which top sixteen students would qualify for the final round of the tournament.

Now, it was Reiko and 1A's Aoyama's (41st and 42nd) turn to cast their lots. One rock paper scissors later – Setsuna had to squint at the sheer sparkliness of the blond guy – Reiko was first to choose. Somewhat predictably, her first choice was Todoroki, and no amount of Monoma's slighted scoffs would change that.

"Mademoiselle Yaoyorozu, please~" Aoyama called out. The eyes of all students wandered over to 1A's recommended student, and it seemed Momo herself was surprised at being picked so soon. Realizing that she might be causing a scene, she joined her classmate with a sheepish blush. Setsuna shot her a thumbs-up.

"Setsuna." Oh hey, speak of the devil. The lizard girl joined Reiko with a grin.

"Then I shall have Mademoiselle Tokage's mystifyingly tall friend~" This time, everyone's eyes wandered over to Maria. The white marble rose her eyebrow ever so slightly before joining Aoyama's team. Setsuna's grin lessened ever so slightly – that wasn't an opponent she wanted.

Little by little, the teams filled out. After their brief fishings into the other class's pool, both Reiko and Aoyama seemed content to stick to their classmates. It made sense to Setsuna – even disregarding how the two groups might not have recognized the other's Quirks, it was a simple gesture of solidarity to solidify the rivalry between two classes. 1A was seen as better and more learned, having had real experience fighting villains at the USJ – 1B wanted to catch up and show they had their own tricks too.

Curiously, the last person to be picked – even after Shinsou and Hatsume, who went to Aoyama and Reiko's teams respectively – was Midoriya. Setsuna briefly recalled all the stories involving the use of his Quirk, and how they would inevitably end in a broken limb or two. The green broccoli didn't seem too bothered by it – except for the slight flinch when an unmistakable by now "Deku!" growled out of Bakugo's throat as he approached.

* * *

Bakugo was already livid – now he was approaching cyclopean rage.

He was _supposed_ to beat that lying cheat of a nobody in this round, not buddy up with him! Trust Frenchie to put you in a situation like that… ugh, why couldn't this be some other competition? Stuff where he could just go on his own and win on his own – as he should?

"Bakugo? You good, dude?" Stupid Hair asked him. The blond scoffed and replied with a non-committal grunt. "Alright. We were talking about how you'll probably be our star player."

"Terrible attitude aside, if you lob an explosion ball, I don't think anyone in the other team can catch it on reaction." Pikachu piped in with a grin.

"I'll show you some terrible attitude—"

"Yeah, that's all fun, but if we don't handle Todoroki-kun first" Round Face's turn to prattle, apparently. "we can throw all we want. They'll just fortify."

"And we should probably keep Midoriya's throws of death as a last resort." Tail Guy now. Bakugo felt something in his face twitch. Making plans _around_ Deku? With Deku as a fucking centerpiece?

"_**Todoroki and Monoma both. His Quirk lets him copy other Quirks."**_ Oh yeah, Sequoia was here too, because today was just the worst. Ugh. How was he supposed to show them up like the extras they were if they were supposed to work together, somehow?

"Man, good thing you thought ahead, Aoyama." Weird Lips laughed, clapping Frenchie on the back. Watching the blondie almost fall over from the clap brought some kind of strange pleasure to Bakugo, cold comfort it might have been. "If we didn't have Muradashilova here, we'd be going in blind."

"_**I do not doubt Todoroki might be willing to tell all about your Quirks in return." **_The tall extra hummed in what seemed like amusement. **_"If they can get him to talk, I suppose."_**

"Yeah, Lil'deavor isn't exactly the soul of the party." Racoon Eyes grumbled, arms folding on her chest.

"That nickname is so golden though." Pikachu snickered. "Who started it?"

"I think it was Tokage-chan from 1B." Frog Face tapped her chin. Why were they talking about Half-n-Half and his dumbass nickname to begin with?

"Either way, shall we focus?" At least Ponytail spoke some sense. "We have only five minutes to prepare a strategy. Maria-san" She turned her attention to Sequoia. "Can you give us a brief summary of your classmates's Quirks?"

"_**Naturally. 'tis only sporting."**_

* * *

"I don't know, man… turtling like that isn't very manly..."

"If you want Midoriya to take your head off, Tetsu, be my guest." Monoma grumbled. 1B's proceedings were considerably smoother than their rival class's – if only because Todoroki was quick and to the point when discussing his classmates. Even the copycat could appreciate that. "Fortifying with Todoroki's ice will do just fine."

"Until Bakugo blows a hole in your palace, Elsa." Awase groused, eyes looking briefly towards the spiky mop of sandy blond hair over there. "We won't see that coming if we just fort up like that."

"I don't see how we can take him out fast instead though." Rin shook his head. "From what Todoroki said, he can basically turn on a whim in the air, if he'll even bother to dodge and not blast the balls out of the sky."

"Kaibara could throw a curveball. Or a drillball, more specifically—"

"I'll drillball your lights out, Tsuburaba." Kaibara grumbled dismissively. "That's not how my Quirk works."

"Oh, oh! I have something for that!" Natsume piped up, her dreads bouncing up and down with her. "If we slap some rocket babies on those bad boys, we can send them packing!"

"We could just have Shoda punch some balls." Yui suggested, ignoring the snicker both Tsuburaba and Setsuna made.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Itsuka nodded in agreement. "If a ball suddenly speeds up in the air, that's bound to catch some of them off-guard."

"What if we slap rocket babies on that, too?!"

"Why… are you calling them babies?" Manga immediately regretted his question; the look in Support Course student's eyes was nothing short of manic. Before she could launch into a tirade, Setsuna's disembodied hand came to silence her before she started talking.

"We shroom probably pick up the pace." Kinoko pointed out. "We've got like five minutes left."

"We take out Yaoyorozu first, right?" Bondo asked uncertainly. Monoma tapped his chin in thought before shaking his head.

"No, I don't doubt they expect that. Ideally, we should eliminate her in the mid-game once there isn't enough bodies for her to hide behind. We can leave that to Tokage or Yanagi, since they can just hold onto a ball near-indefinitely."

"I… have doubts if I am nimble enough to not avoid swift death by a softball." The Poltergeist user looked down sheepishly.

"You don't need to avoid anythin', Captain!" Tetsutetsu grinned, pumping his fist up. "They said you're only out if it hits you below the shoulders!"

"Are you… planning to block balls with your face?" Yui asked before realizing a little too late how that might have sounded to some people: both Setsuna and Tsuburaba were already on the floor laughing.

* * *

Shinsou's experiences with dodgeball tended to gravitate towards "see how long you can last against the entire class".

When you were the guy in your class designated as "villain in the making", your face tended to attract projectiles on every PE lesson. Hitoshi wouldn't call it "bullying"; more like a subconscious instinct to let loose on someone the others were afraid of. He prided himself on being pretty good at dodging these, for the most part.

Of course, that was without Quirks in the equation.

Idly bouncing the rubber ball off the ground, he watched 1B, Todoroki, and the annoying Support Course lady take their positions. They took a bit longer discussing their battle plan, likely trying to take more things into account. 1A, for all of Yaoyorozu's goodwill, seemed more of a hotheaded sort. Bakugo in particular looked ready to throw grenades rather than balls, just standing on his own and angrily letting his projectile slip from one hand to another.

Shinsou was probably low on 1B's priority list – even if they already had a general idea of how his Quirk worked by now – but it was probably best to take cover behind someone big and dumb. Kirishima and Satou looked ready to jump face-first of incoming projectiles to shield Yaoyorozu from elimination, so those two were out. Maybe the skittish guy – Koda, was it? - or the edgy bird guy?

"Alright, competitors! Get ready!" He heard Midnight call out to the field. Nearby him, Midoriya's grip on the ball tightened. Maybe he would do. "Get ready… get set… BEGIN!" Or maybe…

Maybe just dropping down would do. Half a second later, the icy hell began.

* * *

Todoroki watched the balls bouncing off his ice wall return to the other side of the field.

The problem with throwing a giant glacier for defense and calling it a day was that this wall had two sides. Only a few of their team could climb over it in one way or another; the others had to take risk and use only the partial defense he provided; a waist-high barrier across the field and a full-body wall for himself.

It worked, to an extent: Asui's sneaky curveball from below found no purchase, as did Sero's tape fling. Good. Todoroki's role in the battle was entirely defensive: he was the guy with no projectile on hand. That suited Shouto just fine, honestly. "How the h-hell do you not freeze to death with this?" Monoma grunted from behind clacking teeth, still getting used to the interesting duality of the borrowed Quirk.

"Practice."

Both teams shrunk quite a bit even after the first wave of throws. The first 1B he saw out was Komori – easy points for anyone with half-decent aim, sadly. Kamakiri and Bondo joined her soon after as the biggest targets on hand. On the other side, Koda and Jiro were out, and so was Kaminari after his attempt at throwing his own curveball. Natsume managed to slap one of her inventions on her projectile and tossed it right at Yaoyorozu – but Kirishima's face was happy to take the hit instead.

"Don't steal my moves, bro!" Tetsutetsu hollered, launching a ball he just stopped the same way a moment ago. What seemed like a dead-on elimination found no purchase: Shiozaki's hair held onto the ball firmly.

"Shoda!" Yui's ball – bigger than the rest – was passed to the Twin Impact user, and punched towards 1A with due diligence. It sped up midair right on time, and it found its mark: Iida was sent backwards by the impact, his dodging slide just a touch too slow.

"I fucking see you, Chubby!" That was Shoda's first and last score this match – Bakugo's Explosion-powered toss nearly bowled him over. Todoroki looked to the other part of the enemy team's field: the General Studies guy and Midoriya were doing a pretty good job of dodging oncoming balls, few that they were. One of them brushed over the green mop of hair – and ended up outing Hagakure behind the two of them.

He sent the wall of ice to shield Yanagi from an oncoming Sero fastball. "Much appreciated!" She called out, still trying to manipulate her ball through the chaos to drop and hit the right person at the right time. Tetsutetsu also shot him a thumbs-up, but that proved to be his undoing: Satou nailed him right in the chest in this moment of distraction. Back in their side of the field, Kendo was a star, easily seizing thrown projectiles with her enlarged hands and returning them full force. Kirishima took the first and the second one right to his noggin again, but the third one went the other way and slapped Ojiro's tail-tossed ball right out of the air.

Bakugo fastball zipped past his head and struck someone in the back. Judging by the string of curses in Chinese, it was probably Rin. It seemed he was still in the game though – the ball struck his nose rather than anywhere that would get him ringed out. Cold comfort for what seemed like a prodigious nosebleed. "Natsume's tending to him. Don't get distracted now, Lil'deavor!" He heard Tokage call out. Wait, what did she just call him?

* * *

Momo bit her lip in frustration.

With the right prep time, she would be able to come up with a winning strategy even against such a strong team like the one they were pitted against – but there was no prep time, and Todoroki's ice was pretty much instant. It wasn't _perfect, _but its mere presence threw any kind of overwhelming force in jeopardy.

They've just lost Sero, so their array of technical throwers was getting smaller too. _**"Well, this is looking to be in our favor."**_ It seemed Momo's worry could not be found in the others, certainly not Maria. The slight smile she wore even as she caught another of Kendo's thrown balls did inspire some confidence, at least. _**"Although hitting Setsuna at all might prove a hassle."**_

"The puzzle girl?" Shoji was another of their pillars. As it turned out, having six arms helped a ton in dodgeball. "She's tempting fate with those nonchalant dodges."

"_**Do not mistake it for weakness. She plays her part as a distraction and assassin both." **_One of Shoji's tentacle arms reformed into an eye to look up. Indeed, the upper half of her head and a right hand still holding a ball floated high above the field, waiting for a perfect opportunity while her other parts ran interference here and there, helping pass balls among her teammates. **_"Leftward, Aoyama!" _**

"_Merci beacoup!"_Their team captain swiveled to avoid Awase's throw, just barely avoiding flopping inelegantly on the ground. A little to the side, Ojiro had less luck – Shishida's toss struck the tail before it could grab onto the ball.

"If we can get Todoroki out, it should be open season!" Mina slid past, jumping right over a throw and returning the favor with her own – Kuroiro could not get out of the way in time. Maria hummed, almost absentmindedly reflecting a throw with a shield Momo provided for most of the team. "If" was a big part of Ashido's sentence. Another Bakugo fastball screeched with the fury of the heavens and punched right through Tsuburaba's air barrier. ("Son of a biiiiiscuit!")

...wait a second.

"_**How secretive of you, Yui… get ready to raise your guard up. Itsuka will unleash hell upon us shortly." **_

"Bigger hell than before?" Kirishima slurred a little uncertainly, the tactic of taking hits to the noggin beginning to be a little much despite the Hardening Quirk. Momo frowned in confusion.

"How do you figure, Maria?"

"...ah, beans." Shoji seemed to have caught on too. "There's less balls than there should be, and Kodai can shrink items."

"_**Which combined with Itsuka's ability to launch multiples with her enlarged hands..."**_

"...will stop dead cold before God's will." It seemed Shiozaki was willing to take the bet, her vines flaring defensively. If anyone could easily catch a cluster of oncoming projectiles, it could be her. "They can try their worst."

"I, uh, I think we should probably spread out instead." Satou pointed out. In the corner of their eyes, Kendo was reeling her arm back, ready to throw. Maria frowned, ready to dodge and catch the oncoming projectiles. Catching two should be easy enough, maybe three wasn't out of her ability.

Only once she heard Manga's loud **BANG!, **did she realize that the plan was a touch more complex than that.

* * *

Using 1A's ace as a distraction was such a Monoma plan, Reiko could not believe that it actually worked.

Todoroki was a vital part of their defense, and probably why she was still in the game now that Tetsutetsu was out, but his giant displays of power were meant to be smoke and mirrors. So were she and Setsuna distractions in their own right; two "invisible" hands hovering above the field to keep 1A on their toes. The three vital parts of this grand strategy were Itsuka, Yui – and Manga, hanging way in the back the whole time.

Little by little, taking advantage of the initial chaos, Yui shrunk a few of the balls left around by the fallen allies and opponents both, passing them to Itsuka here and there. For the moment of the throw, aimed at Yaoyorozu and people congregating around her to keep her shielded from elimination, Manga would let something with a punch loose. This wasn't a foolproof strategy – it relied on three people staying in the game, and there were a few people on the other team who could avoid or resist such an attack – but since they already got this far, they could very well use it.

Now, with both Pony and Shishida just getting eliminated, it was a now or never blast. "TAKE THIS!" Itsuka-launched cloud of metaphorical death was let loose, spurred on further by Manga's explosive onomatopoeia. The attack was so strong, it raised a giant cloud of dust that obscured all vision between the two teams – and kept Reiko from seeing a defiant return throw hit her forearm.

"Ah… curses."

* * *

Izuku's instinct telling him to drop dead on the ground worked like a charm before the encroaching cloud of death.

He could have tried to Smash it away, but at best he would have to contend with the broken arm for the rest of the match – at worst he would just get beaned in the face _and_ have a broken arm. Having Natsume around would have helped – it seemed she could treat Rin's broken nose just fine with one of her items.

Now that he rose back to his feet, their side of the field was decimated. Kacchan was still here, of course ("You missed your target, Yaoi Hands!"), he saw Asui-san and Shiozaki-san hold on – but the others? Everyone else in that group was out for the count. So was Shinsou-kun, though it seemed he did what he wanted to do, judging by the slight smile dancing on his lips as he helped carry Aoyama-kun off the field.

One more person held on, and she did so in a manner defying expectations.

"Oh you've gotta be fucking kidding me!"

"Language, Awase!" There stood Muradasilova-san on one leg. The other, bent in half, held one of the balls thrown her way in the pit of her knee. Two more were in her hands, with arms slowly uncrossing from her chest. The fourth one was between her teeth, held perhaps the most securely of all of them.

Slowly, she unfurled from her defensive position, passing the projectiles in her hands to Midoriya and Shiozaki before grabbing the other two. _**"Good effort… but your guard **__**was pried**__** open." **_She smiled thinly. What did she mean by-where was Todoroki-kun?

"...who the fuck just knocked Half-n-Half out?!" It seemed Kacchan was incredulous, too. Maria left 1B with little time to ponder, tossing her first fastball of the match – and removing Monoma from the equation with an air-taking strike.

"_**And now… the hunt is on."**_

* * *

"Okay, holy shit, who knocked you out of the match, Todoroki?"

Shouto, for his part, wanted to say "Tokoyami" - because it was the bird-headed student's Dark Shadow who did the deed – but something did not add up. He knew that Tokoyami's Quirk was a little more whimsical than he was, but he was still not the kind to pass around childish, blood-boiling nicknames like the one Tokage gave him.

"After Kendo kicked up all that dust, it was hard to see anything." Jiro followed after Kaminari's incredulous question. The Fire-Ice user shrugged. "You know you don't have to play hard to get."

"I'm not sure." He replied curtly, trying to skip on the conversation. "Lil'deavor". The first time he was just incredulous something like that existed – now he was getting anxiously angry with it. "It doesn't matter." What did matter was his further participation in the tournament. He absolutely could not afford to be out of the running before even reaching the finals. He could already feel the conversation with the old man brewing on the horizon – and it was making him really, really upset.

"...you, uh… you okay though, dude?" Jiro asked again, a little gentler this time. "Didn't think you'd be the sore loser type."

"You probably don't have anything to worry about, even." Kaminari chuckled. "What's with you being the cornerstone of 1B and all that." The worst thing was, Kaminari was one hundred percent spot-on. If there was a jury presiding over their performance, a significant boost to the entire team's defensive capabilities was invaluable. He would be a shoe-in for the final sixteen.

But what if he wasn't?

"...I'll go get some fresh air." He said and excused himself, ignoring the worried looks of his peers and Kaminari's weak "we're on fresh air right now..." trailing behind.

* * *

"Prez, please tell me you have some smart ideas on hand."

In hindsight, Maria was always going to be a problem. Never in an obvious, expected way like Bakugo was – a more insidious, subtle kind of issue altogether. The kind that everyone almost forgot about after the wipe-out of Yaoyorozu's group – at least until someone managed to out Todoroki, followed by Monoma getting the daylights punched out of him with the Finnish Fastball.

With their defensive abilities suddenly crippled like that, Maria wasted no time eliminating both Awase and Honenuki in short order to drastically even the odds. "I'm working on it, Tokage-chan..." Itsuka grunted, seizing another batch of fastballs thrown their way. Yui and Manga cowered behind her, Hatsume tempted fate by testing her gear and its dodging abilities against an increasingly more irate Bakugo, and Setsuna still remained out of reach with her Quirk. Apparently she managed to eliminate Uraraka after she narrowly escaped the onslaught with her Zero Gravity, so there was that, at least…

"Stop fucking hiding, you 1B extras!" Bakugo barked with another toss. He was getting stronger and stronger, and though Itsuka was pretty good at catching the oncoming balls by now, a single misstep would eliminate her – and leave her class wide open. Rin, with his nose patched up by Hatsume's Fix-It-Paste (Fixes It!), dived under the oncoming Midoriya throw. It was an ordinary kind of throw – the only reason Rin had trouble dodging was because of his disturbed sense of balance from an earlier hit to the face.

Of course, something told the redhead that if Midoriya finally _used_ his Quirk, she would not be catching that ball.

"She shoots, she… doesn't score, bugger!" Hatsume was the current star of their line-up, dodging attacks with surprising grace, further boosted by her gear – but she could not return fire to save her life without the aid of her tech. Shiozaki seemed nonplussed, remaining largely in a single spot using her hair to catch and return oncoming balls. As far away from Bakugo as possible, flinching ever so slightly whenever the Explosion user would come closer.

Alright. This was something to work with. "I need Bakugo closer to Shiozaki. A lot closer." She muttered, almost fumbling the catch.

"Open to suggestions how to do that-jeepers!" Manga squeaked and ducked low under Asui's tongue throw. "Preferably before we all die here?!"

"...I've got something." Whatever Setsuna's mouth had, she didn't sound too sure of it. "But it's going to be dirty."

"I'm pretty sure Monoma will be eating through a straw next week after Maria's throw." Kaibara grumbled. "It can't get much worse."

"Not for us, anyway..."

"...Tokage-chan, why are you staring at Midoriya…?"

* * *

Itsuka's defense was surprisingly impregnable (although her hands must have been sore by now).

Maria frowned, aiming for Kaibara's arm. No purchase there. Aiming for Kendo's legs did little to help either. "Bah. Trying to take Hatsume out is a waste of time." Shiozaki scoffed, still yet to commit to a throw with any of her vines. The Support Course representative was more than happy to remain uncatchable with her gear.

"At this point they'll have to stop the match, won't they?" Asui questioned, low to the ground. Kaibara's throw just narrowly missed Midoriya. "Kendo-chan's a handful like that."

"You've been spending too much time with Kaminari-san."

"_**I would be surprised if that is the end of things." **_The two 1A students could barely perceive the movement of Maria's arm as it flung high up, at where Setsuna's hand floated with her own ball. Just barely. She had to be tired of coordinating multiple body parts like that soon enough… **_"Itsuka is nothing if not resourceful. They must have one final trick up their sleeve."_**

"...honestly, Bakugo-chan's close to losing it himself." The frog girl pointed out. Indeed, the Explosion user's patience was visibly waning. Each of his throws, while sharp and destructive, was just a little sloppier than the last one. "If he keeps at it, ribbit!" The fastball brushed past her scalp. On the other side of the field, Kaibara bit back a curse. "someone will eventually get him."

"_**Good riddance to that. He has been nothing if not uncooperative with Momo's plan." **_

"Yet he still stands where Yaoyorozu-san fell." Maria had to conclude that Shiozaki had the right of it, much as it rankled her. Bakugo was a combat savant with excellent tactical savvy. If they met in the finals, it would be a heated battle at the very least. Still, showing off his hand like that made it easier for Maria to prepare for the inevitable showdown… "As long as he remains in his part of the field, all should be well." As if to jinx all of them, Shiozaki's words had the opposite effect: the Explosion user was approaching them without meaning to, with more explosive throws as he rapidly shifted to where Midoriya was.

Setsuna seemed unusually pleased with herself, even as she was outed of the competition. A similar expression Maria saw on Shinsou's face before he left – before he eliminated Todoroki with Tokoyami's hands. Kaibara's drillball came the very moment Shiozaki's vines shrunk away from the encroaching explosions Bakugo used to get around.

"Smile for the camera!" And just like that, their last person with defensive capabilities was out; Ibara only managed to bring up her arm to shield herself from the throw – but that still counted as an elimination. Another one for Maria was caught in a firm grip. Sen didn't get to enjoy his score for long – Bakugo outed him a moment later.

"Fine, make me do everything fucking myself! What else is new?!" He drawled, sending another one and railing Rin out of the running. His eyes bloodshot and teeth bared in a bestial snarl, he set eyes on the people still hiding behind Yaoi Hands (Weird Eyes was doing her own thing, he couldn't care for her). About time he pried that stupid last group of extras open like a can of sardines.

He knew Deku's been eyeing that prize the entire match, looking to squeeze his way into the finals like a slimy scumbag that he was. He didn't need Lizard's confirmation – even if it was nice to have it. It was time to end this needless farce, and it would be him doing it. Not Sequoia. Not Frog Face. Not fucking Deku.

That was the plan until a crack of thunder – not unlike the effect of Deku's Quirk – sounded off but Katsuki was quick to tell the ploy: 1B's Cloudface was trying to pull a fast one on him and fake him out with a distraction! "You think that'll work, you damn extra?!" The explosive toss had Yaoi Hands buckling. One more, and it had to be now, right now, it couldn't be any other moment—

His wrist was seized. _**"Do you realize how annoying you are?" **_ Sequoia. What the fuck was she doing? They were in the middle of a match, and she had the _balls_ to stop him? He was so angry, he looped right back into serenity. It was incredible. _**"The match is over."**_

...what?

"...the fuck do you mean—"

"She means it's a tie, you maniac!" He heard Cloudface holler from the other side of the field, but the sound was distant and muffled. At this point, Bakugo had only interest in the cold, judgmental look that Sequoia was daring to give him.

"_**The match is over. You seem to have mistaken the ending siren for something else." **_The gray eyes narrowed. **_"As blood-addled beasts do." _**

"The fuck are you—" He freed his hand with a scoff. Alright, big fucking deal. Guess he was robbed of one more opportunity to show these extras up. He had the finals for that. He did so much work for that shitty team, there could be no other way he wouldn't be getting there. "Keep your shitty poetry to yourself, Sequoia. And watch your back."

"_**Are you threatening me?"**_

"What the fuck do you think?" She smiled in response. Bakugo felt something in his face twitch.

"_**I will see you uphold your barking. May your bite be half as effective."**_

* * *

**The problem with writing by the seat of your pants is that once you run yourself into a dead end, it might be hard to recover. **

**What seemed like an interesting idea - and a departure from the typical Cavalry Battle - started running out of steam past the time when it would be hard to pull back and remake it into something else. Nothing else for it, I suppose. Hope you enjoyed it all the same. Now that we're returning to the finals, I can just let the one-on-one fight formula carry me for a bit. **

**And right on time, seeing as it's time we pick up the plot a tad. Your reading and comments, as always, is greatly appreciated. :)**


	13. Mysteries Abound

Shigaraki was in hell.

Being chained up and strung up like a piece of beef jerky sucked enough. Getting his first raid so totally wiped by some cage-faced NPC and a bunch of brats sucked enough.

Having a very, very obnoxiously chatty guard for company made him want to dust himself on the spot. That the stupid U.A. festival was on the telly right now was just a cherry on top of this shitty cake. "So, you've got any types, Villain-san?" He asked with the same obnoxiously cheery smile on his dumb stretchy face. Shigaraki cast him a withering glare. "Like, you have to be rooting for one of those kids at least, right?"

"I tried to kill like half of the fuckers."

"That's too bad, I suppose." Chuckling, the guard munched on a bunch of chips. This was some real fucking unprofessional guarding, Shigaraki thought. "You'll be stuck here for a while, might as well get a favorite."

"Listen here, you shitty NPC—"

"Oh! My daughter is into those NPC things!" What? Oh sweet baby gods, did he have to correct this old man's lingo? Was this what Shigaraki Tomura was up to these days? "I don't really get it myself, but she can stare at those bar codes for hours and hours."

"That's… that's UPC. That's not a guy, that's a fucking bar code, how can you even confuse the two?!"

"I suppose they're a little bit like people; each one looks just slightly more different—"

"No they're not!"

...this was going to be a long stay.

* * *

The jury had an hour-and-a-half intermission to come to a decision regarding the final sixteen contestants.

While some of them were understood both by their peers and the audience as shoe-ins, there was still a number of spots that had to be figured out. What would matter more: the points or the jury's verdict? None of this really mattered to Maria at the time, currently trying to waddle her way through the crowd of adoration to get some yakitori.

"You sure showed up that blond dumbass!"

"That catch was so cool though! Not even the six-arms guy could manage!"

"She finished the race second with _two_ people on her back! Two!"

"The only guy before her was that Endeavor Jr. guy! That guy's just a right monster!"

"Just got eliminated from the second round no sweat though. What happened?"

"I think it was the guy with a Stand. The one with a bird head?"

"Maria-san, I love you!"

"C-c-can I have an autograph?"

...it was a big crowd. _**"Please make way. Please make way..."**_ Yet she continued at this ponderous pace, sticking out due to her height. Luckily, some pros on patrol were happy to help.

"Alright, people, don't crowd her like that!" A gruff man with a square jaw and giant armbands called out, clapping to get people to listen. Some of the crowd gravitated towards the other two: a man in a wooden costume and a blonde with purple horns and a matching bodysuit. The latter in particular took to the switch of attention like a fish to water. "You good, kid?" The man approached once he himself swiveled out of the few fans that came to see him and not the new hotness on the pro-hero scene.

"_**Much appreciated, sir. 'tis hard to go around with that kind of crowd."**_ Maria nodded.

"Good show so far. You'll probably have people from the top ten baying to get you under their wings even if you don't go far in the finals." Her slight frown did not go unnoticed. Guess this one wasn't much for fame?

"_**I will keep that in mind, sir. Good fortune on your patrol."**_ Not much for talk either despite the flowery, antiquated speech. She resumed on her way to the yakitori vendor – and insisted to pay even despite being offered "on the house". If Mt. Lady wasn't busy signing autographs and preening for the cameras, she'd probably take offense to that.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Komori-chan?"

The group playing "Who am I?" looked up at Itsuka. The 1B prez looked to be beside herself with worry. "Nobody had seen her after she left our class's seats."

"I guess she might be just walking around?" Tsuburaba, with a sticky note on his forehead saying "Yoroi-musha", replied with a tilt of his head. "She'd be easy to lose in a crowd like the one outside."

"She's been down in the dumps the whole match." Kamakiri ("Captain Celebrity") added with a nod. "No small wonder, getting into the second round fourth and then punking out first like that."

"Oh, you mean the mushroom girl?" Ashido ("Best Jeanist")'s eyes lit up with understanding. "Ouch. Hope Blasty McSplode didn't hit her too hard with that fastball."

"Bakugo's in it to win it." Kirishima, his head slightly bandaged up, ("Societal collapse") sighed. "And he'll walk all over you to get his win. But no, haven't seen her anywhere. Need help to look for her, Kendo?"

"No, I already have Tokage-chan and Monoma helping me out. Thanks though." The redhead smiled slightly, but that didn't last long and the worry creased her brows again. "…I'm sure she hadn't left the premises..."

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry." Kamakiri shook his head. "She'll be back on her feet in no time flat."

"I don't doubt that, but I don't want some buttwipe to harass her while she's recovering."

"Honestly, Prez, no one can blame Komori for getting outed like that. She had big points on her head – and Bakugo was the first to toss a ball." Tsuburaba smiled reassuringly. "As long as she recognizes it herself, no harm done, she'll be fine."

* * *

Komori Kinoko was decidedly not fine.

It wasn't actually because of her abysmal performance. Well, it was the reason why she was wandering around the festival grounds like that with no goal in mind, but, at the end of the day, there would be another time. And hey, maybe someone did take notice of her. She did knock Midoriya out with that one shiitake…

...but speaking of Midoriya, here he was with Todoroki having a very confidential heart-to-heart.

Why that discussion was happening eluded Kinoko's intuition – but it was definitely not something she should have been here for. The first thing she should have done was to make herself scarce as quietly as possible and leave them to it. Yet she stayed, and she learned terrifying things not just about Todoroki himself – but about his family and the dysfunction within.

And that might have been something normal. Maybe Todoroki just wanted to confide in someone, maybe it was just a weight on his chest for a while. After all, having a No. 2 Hero for a dad must have been demanding, right? And it was, but not in the way Kinoko would have expected.

Just casual, homely abuse.

The mushroom girl didn't consider herself easily angered or quick to throw hands, but with every little bit of Todoroki's story, she felt her blood heat up in indignation. The burn scar? A helping of boiling water spilled by his tormented mother in a moment of weakness. The reason for said torment? A loveless Quirk marriage, and each of her children meant to be a tool – discarded when proven useless – to further unrealized ambitions of their father. The ambition? To become Number One of the Hero Rankings. To defeat the undefeated that was All Might; if not himself, then through his progeny.

_That_ was why Todoroki did not use his fire part of the Quirk. He threw all ice he could have thought of, but the fire was not his. It was his father's, and he'd rather jump off a cliff than use something from him. From Endeavor. From No. 2 Hero of Japan. From a domestic abuser who drove his wife mad and his youngest to seething hatred.

...Setsuna's nickname. Oh gosh, Setsuna's nickname for Todoroki was all _wrong_ now. He even mentioned it in his discussion with Midoriya, almost spitting it out like it was glass. People did not see Todoroki Shouto, they saw a smaller Endeavor that used ice rather than fire. Oh no, this was all wrong…

Yet, Midoriya seemed determined to prove Todoroki wrong – and Kinoko could tell from the sheer conviction in his voice that he was going to, one way or another. By beating him, perhaps? By showing him that he cannot rely on just his ice to overcome opponents?

Her thoughts went over to how he fumbled during the dodgeball, and how Maria carried him like a lost puppy to the finish line. Somehow, these contrasting images did not make his conviction any lesser. Darn it – she had to find Setsuna and explain how bad that nickname was without actually detailing why…

* * *

"You still owe me a dance, remember?~"

Maria sighed, eyeing Mei shamelessly latched onto her shoulders in a piggyback ride. They attracted stares, but at least being back inside the stadium meant there were no adoring fans to crowd them. _**"There is a high chance we will not meet in the finals. How to have it for certain?"**_ To her worry, the pinkette's lips quirked knowingly, almost smugly.

"You don't need to worry your huge self about it—"

"_**...you did not rig the brackets, did you?" **_

"Perish the thought! It would make things much easier, but I'm not that kinda girl. I can't be a respectful mother of many many babies if I cheat my way into it." That was… an interesting metaphor, to be sure. "...I only rigged one fight in a bracket."

"_**...Mei..."**_

"It's fine~ You're basically going to the quarterfinals with no sweat." While the white marble had some issues about being offered a free pass like that, the other part of it was far more curious.

"_**Oh? You would rather not try and go beyond to sell your products more?" **_Hatsume giggled and slipped off Maria's back.

"And risk getting tagged in the face by Blasty McSplode? Nah. Ten minutes is all I'll need to sell a product."

"_**And will I see the script you have prepared for the occasion?"** _

"Nnnnope. Improv is best prov~"

* * *

The list of the final sixteen was revealed.

Some of the positions on the list were obvious; the others quite a bit less so. "Told you you'll make it." Kyoka gave Momo a grin and a thumbs-up. 1A's ace smiled back a little uncertainly. There was no reasoning given for their passage beyond what could be observed from the match itself – but she trusted the jury to be impartial and objective.

Sixteen names lined up the jumbotron, complete with their photos and their Quirk names.

* * *

MURADASILOVA, Maria BAKUGO, Katsuki KAIBARA, Sen KODAI, Yui

HATSUME, Mei TODOROKI, Shouto ASUI, Tsuyu TOKOYAMI, Fumikage

SHINSOU, Hitoshi KENDO, Itsuka YAOYOROZU, Momo SHOJI, Mezou

MIDORIYA, Izuku SHIOZAKI, Ibara TOKAGE, Setsuna MONOMA, Neito

* * *

Momo looked nervously between her fellow contenders. Setsuna offered a thumbs-up. All that was left was to see what the brackets were going to be and—

"Excuse me!" Her and others's eyes wandered to where Tokoyami was. It seemed something was on his mind. "May I speak?"

"Something the matter, Tokoyami?" Midnight inquired with a slight headtilt. The bird-headed boy seemed to be considering whether not to go through with what he had to say before swallowing that bitter pill.

"...I… would like to retire from the proceedings." ...what? The audience hushed in confusion at the statement. Midnight's head remained tilted even as she gestured at him to continue. "I… have been told that I was the one to eliminate Todoroki from the match in the second round, but… I'm ashamed to admit that I have no recollection of that happening."

"Maybe you just forgot about it in the heat of the moment?" Someone suggested in the back, but it seemed Tokoyami was committed to his decision.

"I cannot continue this fight in good conscience if I cannot confirm I was the one doing the fighting." His head hung down. "I am sorry to disappoint."

"Are you certain of your decision, Tokoyami? No one will fault you for wanting to continue."

"Unquestionably, Midnight-sensei."

Tokoyami's name replaced by Satou's after a short scramble for the vote, all was set to reveal the brackets. Momo caught sight of 1B's Monoma flinching ever so slightly, as if he wanted to step up and say something too. Well, it was too late to back out now – they were the best sixteen students U.A. had to offer. Yet, only one of them would be walking out of this competition with a gold medal.

* * *

1\. KAIBARA, Sen – TODOROKI, Shouto 5. MURADASILOVA, Maria – HATSUME, Mei

2\. SHINSOU, Hitoshi – MIDORIYA, Izuku 6. YAOYOROZU, Momo – TOKAGE, Setsuna

3\. BAKUGO, Katsuki – KODAI, Yui 7. SHIOZAKI, Ibara – ASUI, Tsuyu

4\. MONOMA, Neito – SATOU, Rikido 8. KENDO, Itsuka – SHOJI, Mezou

* * *

"...shit." Yui didn't have much else to say at who her opponent was going to be.

"You think you've got it bad, Kodai?" Sen licked his lips nervously, staring at the cold face of his opponent on the jumbotron.

"That makes three of us." Monoma sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Satou's Quirk wasn't really something he could copy... "Should have quit while I still could."

"Quit? But you've made it this far already." Itsuka pointed out with a frown.

"Coasting on someone else's Quirk, Kendo. Even I have a limit to my audacity."

"Don't sweat it, dude." Setsuna offered a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It's what _your_ Quirk does. No need to beat yourself up over it."

"Guess at least Maria-sama has nothing to worry about." Yui hummed, watching the exasperation on the white marble's face as she was talking to the Support Course girl – cheerfully inconsiderate of said exasperation.

* * *

Shigaraki's eyes narrowed.

It seemed the tall brat – holy shit, she was pretty tall – shared a name with Cage-faced NPC's personal creepypasta monster. He might have been willing to pass it off as a coincidence – even if non-Japanese names were kind of in short supply around these parts – but something told him that the two were related in some manner. The Eyebrain was almost as tall, even.

It probably explained why she looked so fucking out there every time the camera shot showed her. "Aha! So you _do _have a type, after all." He forced himself not to roll his eyes at the chatty guard's dumb dialogue tree.

"Fuck that. She just sticks out like a sore fucking thumb."

"Can't argue with that, I suppose. Guess she might not be from around these parts?"

"What, did the extremely un-Japanese name not give that away?" Before they could get into another pointless conversation, someone knocked on the door. Both Shigaraki and the guard looked toward the unlikely interruption. Once a familiar cage popped into view, the Decay user felt his face twitch in an unnamed rage.

"Pardon the intrusion." It was none other than the Cage-faced NPC himself, just strolling into the arrest in his stupid dumb outfit as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He even closed the doors behind himself. "I hope I'm not interrupting the watch, gentlemen."

"...who..." The sheer audacity of this entrance seemed to have caught the guard in a stupor. At least he wasn't being stupid chatty anymore. But how _did _that NPC get here? Shigaraki recalled Micolash and his goons warp in to the USJ just like he did, but neither he nor the Eyebrain seemed to have a Warp quirk…

How did not a single copper bat an eye on that?

"Not to worry, my good man. I'll be gone in a jiffy, once I extricate this hooligan you have on hand."

"Extri… hold it right there!" The guard fumbled towards the desk – no doubt to press some alert button hidden under it or other, Shigaraki thought – but a well-thrown kitchen knife stopped him right as rain, going through the palm and ripping an anguished scream out of the man. Micolash wasn't the one throwing it – that was the blonde schoolgirl with a big, manic grin poking from behind the vintage academic robe; another knife danced between her fingers with the ease suggesting expertise in using these.

"Hey, Mico-san, can I go be friends with the old man?" She asked with an excited lilt. The grin turned into a pout when Micolash shook his head.

"Patience, dear Himiko. I'd like you to stay here in case Mr. Shigaraki proves testy." Oh, "testy" did not begin to describe the growing rage within the Decay user. Cage-faced NPC that put him here in the first place suddenly shows up again to free him as if nothing happened?

This time he was going to grab past the stupid cage and turn his face into a crater. Yet, before he could even begin planning how to do that without getting shanked by Micolash's JK bitch lackey, another familiar face swirled into the view.

"**Shigaraki Tomura."** Kurogiri nodded felt something in his face twitch again.

"The fuck are you doing being buddy-buddy with that shitstain, Kurogiri?"

"Oooh, he's feisty! I wanna be friends with him too!"

"**I understand you must be confused." **Without pause, the Black Mist man threw his hand towards the guard's, keeping it locked in place and away from the alert button in a small warp portal. **"But we will be allying with The School of Mensis ****for the foreseeable future."**

"Did you drop on your fucking head, Kurogiri?! That piece of shit is why we're here to begin with! He wrecked our Nomu! Sensei's Nomu!"

"I cannot be held responsible for being presented with a _tabula rasa_ of a brain like that of your strongman's." Micolash scoffed, waving off his anger without a care. "The darling Maria of mine is an extremely potent enabler of knowledge, I will have you know."

"Why the _fuck_ is it even called that?! Kurogiri, just… just cut me up in two like a turkey. Maybe that'll wake me up."

"Oh oh, I'm down! Hey, Mico-san, Kuro-san, can I?~"

"Patience, Himiko." Another pout, but it seemed she cared enough for Micolash's opinion to stay put, opting to simply plop down onto the desk and focus on the telly instead, chin propped on her hands. "Now then, I expected this kind of ungrateful response. Fortunately, your teacher himself spoke up on the matter." The Cage-face produced a phone from his voluminous sleeve, handing it over to Kurogiri. "The honor is yours, Mr. Kurogiri."

The Black Mist man took a moment to take the phone from Micolash before turning on the recording. From there spoke the voice of Shigaraki's mentor – and he knew for a fact that a chump NPC like the Cage-face could not be able to replicate it. This was real.

Which stung, but he would never suspect the Sensei of foul play towards him. It was just a bitter pill to swallow – a Phoenix Down to get him back into action. And boy, did he have plans for the action.

* * *

Sen sighed, watching the arena ahead.

In just a few minutes he and his opponent would clash in battle as the very first fight of the finals. Normally, he might have been enthused about it; close-quarters fisticuffs were his jam. Even if this was someone like Blasty McSplode or Muradasilova, he could still give them a piece of his mind (since throwing them out of bounds likely wasn't going to happen).

So the brackets ended up giving him the one opponent he didn't want.

Sen didn't kid himself – he had to get incredibly lucky to even get close to Todoroki, let alone take a swing at him. On an open field, with nothing to hide behind or use to his advantage, he could as well throw stones (if he had any to begin with!). Lil'deavor looked especially pissed off coming to the arena, so that too would likely not help Kaibara any. Oh well. Might as well try and fake it 'til he made it. Who knew? Perhaps whatever was pissing Todoroki off so much – he had a feeling it wasn't him – it would cause him to slip and leave himself open.

His folks back home probably watched this with a bated breath. Time to make 'em proud. Announced by Present Mic as "The Giga Drill Breaker Kaibara Sen!", he had to live up to this epic name. He stared down Todoroki, and was stared down in return. "Well, let's make the most of it." One final stretch later, he was all primed to begin.

The first fight of the tournament began with a thunderous roar of the enthused audience, watching Kaibara close in surprisingly quickly as his arms began spinning, ready to unleash a can of whoopass on his opponent. Todoroki refused to move from his spot, looking down, taking a deep breath – and uttering a single sentence.

"Sorry about that."

Then it was ice. A lot of ice.

* * *

"Hey, what the _flying fuck?!" _

"Language, Awase!" Kendo's chiding fell on deaf ears; everyone's eyes were glued to the giant glacier jutting out of the stadium. Kaibara was probably stuck somewhere inside that glacier.

"...I hope Kaibara's okay though..." Honenuki blinked, as if to confirm that he wasn't seeing things.

"Yeah, I don't think Lil'deavor's a killy type." Setsuna blinked, but for a different reason; Kinoko prodded her with a frown.

"Can you… um, stop calling him that?"

"Hey, uh, you good, Komori? You've been antsy all afternoon." Kamakiri tilted his head slightly to look at the mushroom girl.

"I'll be fine. T-thanks for the concern. But yeah, please stop with the Lil'deavor thing…?"

"I mean, uh, I'll try, sure. But why?"

"Feels rude." Kinoko shrugged weakly. "He's his own guy, right? Not just… like a smaller Endeavor."

"He sure feels like one." Kuroiro huffed. "I haven't seen him crack a smile yet."

With the fight called for Todoroki, it was time for U.A.'s favorite bonebreaker to step up to the plate. "Midoriya! Break a leg out there!" Tetsutetsu called out with a thumbs-up to where 1A sat, reciprocated with a sheepish "T-thanks!".

"I know it's a figure of speech, but dude." Tsuburaba rolled his eyes with a light chuckle. "That's like the worst possible figure of speech for that guy."

"He shouldn't have to break anything for Shinsou." Monoma shook his head. "I don't doubt Tokoyami already filled him in on what happened during the match."

"...wait, _what_ happened?" Rin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Shinsou taking Todoroki out with Tokoyami's hands, right?" Yui guessed.

"Bingo. If Midoriya has any braincells at all, he'll be wise to Shinsou's tricks."

* * *

Izuku was pointedly not wise to Shinsou's tricks.

He _knew_ his opponent's Quirk – Tokoyami filled him in on it before a match – and he knew how to counteract it: by not replying to Shinsou's taunts. Unfortunately, Shinsou's taunts were well-placed.

Now, with his body rebelling against his will as he was being made to walk off the stage, he could only scream in his mind. Talk about an embarrassment of a match! Even the 1B guy from a match with Todoroki earlier made an effort – and here was _he_, being so easily dismantled by an opponent everyone predicted to be easy pickings for a Hero Course student.

...which is why he didn't expect for his fingers to _snap_ and snap him out of the stupor right before he stepped out of bounds.

* * *

"_**...how on earth…?"**_

"Ugh, I've heard those fingers snap from all the way over here." Manga flinched at the sound.

"That's what he did?! Wait, but how did he do that?" Shoda blinked in confusion. From what they've gleamed of Shinsou's Quirk, the brainwashed person was completely locked down to his commands. Breaking fingers with that much force would no doubt bring Midoriya back – but only Shinsou could possibly have given him that command, obviously contrary to his interests.

"I've got nothing." Monoma frowned, rubbing his chin in thought.

"_**Midoriya's Quirk… what is it again?"**_

"Super strength." Pony piped up. "Like All Might's!"

"_**Then he would be at no ability to break from this hex on his own..."**_

"Freak accident? Sometimes your body moves when you don't want it to." Honenuki hummed thoughtfully. "Like how your arm can spasm all of a sudden if left idle for too long."

"...I'd get that checked, Honenuki."

"Don't give me lip, Kamakiri."

"Ha, you said "lip"-ow!" Tsuburaba rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Kuroiro slowly retracted his hand. "Well anyway, Midoriya won't make that mistake twice." Sure enough, despite Shinsou getting physical with his opponent Midoriya proved capable enough to throw him out of bounds. He would be the one facing Todoroki in quarterfinals, the poor sap.

...which meant it was time for Yui to take the stage. "Give him hell, Kodai-chan." Kendo smiled and offered a fistbump to the brunette, returned a little uncertainly.

"Show him the cold furies of Cocytus." Reiko chimed in with her own encouragement. This one only got a confused headtilt before Yui reflected and settled for a slight smile instead. Her classmates watched her go down to meet her opponent.

"I want her to win so badly..." Setsuna sighed once she was out of earshot. Her attention was distracted by Maria continuously staring down the arena; specifically where Midoriya was just leaving.

* * *

"ALRIGHT, LISTENERS! WE BRING YOU A REAL BANGER FOR THIS THIRD MATCH!"

Aizawa wished he could be anywhere else but in the commentator booth. With Mic taking full reigns of the… well, mike, the audience was guaranteed to be as hyped for the matches as they could be. That, of course, came at the expense of his and Vlad's eardrums. 1B's homeroom teacher was handling it with exceptional poise though, and especially considering that Kaibara was thoroughly dismantled and Kodai looked to be going the same way.

Perhaps not as thoroughly, but it didn't get more thorough than "get stuck in a glacier the size of a Might Tower". "In the 1A corner comes the growling prowling beast! Savage, unrelenting, with the ego the size of a dump truck and tough to match! First in U.A.'s entrance exam, the ultimate hand grenade looking for redemption after the last two rounds – I give you… BAKUGO… KATSUKI!"

"...Yamada, are you advertising a hero hopeful or an indie wrestler?" Kan shook his head with a mirthless chuckle. It seemed the mike caught his comment, judging by the chuckles in the audience – and the murderous look Bakugo gave towards the commentator booth. Mic carried on without a pause.

"In the 1B corner – she's beauty, she's grace, she'll throw large things in your face! One of the pillars of the second round, don't mistake her quiet demeanor for meekness – she is out for blood like the best of them! Make some noise for… KODAI… YUI!"

"I _will_ take that mike away from you if you keep being dumb with it." Aizawa grumbled. The audience tittered with laughter again. Unlike her opponent, Yui looked nonplussed – even with an insurmountable obstacle standing before her and the quarterfinals. At least Bakugo didn't seem to be out for blood like Todoroki was – just kind of generally annoyed.

Oh well. Fake it 'til you make it.

* * *

**Guess who's back? (back again?)**

**Cage-face's back. (brought a friend!)**

**Writing the finals should be a touch easier for me, at the very least - and in the meantime, things are growing to the side. Toga's here too, now, and she's in league with the Mensis.**

**Kinoko learning about Todoroki's predicament is just peak "write by seat of pants" writing, really. Hopefully I can try and make something out of it. Izuku x Kinoko shipping, maybe- -shot-**

**Either way, here this be. Hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to more. ^-^**


	14. To Go Beyond

Yui had no chance.

She knew as much even as she charged forward to meet her opponent. She might not have been as hopelessly outmatched as Sen was, but unlike him, there wasn't much she could do on an empty field. There were some ideas she had in mind, but they would require just a moment of prep time and getting really close to someone who could explode her face.

Bakugo was deeply unpleasant, but that didn't make him a fool. "Die." The explosion blinded Yui and sent her stumbling backwards, struggling to regain her footing. In came another, and another. At least all the kicked up dust was making things less visible for him – and Yui needed an element of surprise bad. "And don't think you can hide behind all that!"

Perfect timing for her enlarged jacket to bowl him over.

* * *

"Am I crazy or is Kodai hanging on?"

"Wonder how long that will hold." Monoma muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Smart thing to make use of the uniform, but he doubted she had much of anything hidden in the pockets to use. "Bakugo won't fall for that kind of trick twice."

"Maybe if she can grab him—"

"Pretty huge "if", sadly." Kendo sighed. Monoma had the right of it – the Explosion user kept Yui at a distance after shaking off the enlarged jacket. His explosions _did_ tear up a lot of the arena, so she could pick up the bits lying around for projectiles if nothing else…

"But even if she does, making Bakugo's jacket bigger won't slow him down much." Kuroiro pointed out. "Even if it weighs more as a result, he can probably just blow it up or whatever."

"_**What if she made it smaller?"**_ Some of the eyes wandered towards Maria as she observed the battle. Yui was just blown away by another explosion. **"_Make it constrict him. Sever the blood flow in the arms. Deliver a physical blow to a solar plexus in the meantime." _**

"Pretty sure he can just blow that off too."

"And no offense to Yui-chan, but… uh, she's not very strong." Kinoko sighed wistfully. She was doing her best, but Bakugo was on whole another level. It didn't even look like he was putting in much effort.

"...okay, the fact that we just glossed over Maria suggesting Kodai murks him like that is either hilarious or terrifying." Awase forced a dry chuckle. Another explosion – and once again Yui was on the floor. This time she visibly struggled to get up.

"Dude, cut her some slack, man..." Tsuburaba grumbled, shaking his head. "I know we're supposed to be Plus Ultra, but this is just petty cruelty."

"Guess bullying Miro… Mino..." Pony's brows furrowed. Greenie isn't enough for him.

"Man, even Pony is upset, suddenly switching to English..." Honenuki sighed.

Somehow, it seemed similar opinions circulated among other audience members. Not just from other students, but also from civilians, from reporters, even from pro-heroes watching the proceedings. What started off as discontent became anger and indignation, rallying in their fury against Bakugo. They called him a bully, a beast, a thug. A villain in the making.

As they did, Setsuna took notice of a curious thing: Maria tapping her fingers on her arm in increasing agitation. Her eyes were closed, but she was growing tenser with each decibel. Whatever bothered her? Was the crowd too noisy or—

"_**H**__**eikkohenkiset typerät..."**_

"B-bless you?" Kendo replied nearly on autopilot, only realizing her blunder after the words left her mouth; her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. "Er, uh..."

"Either you sneezed or cast some black magic on Bakugo." Kuroiro raised his eyebrow questioningly. The white marble had enough decency to look sheepish for a moment before shaking her head.

"_**Apologies. This crowd is driving me insane with agitation."**_ Maria's eyes – much sharper than the usual – looked at the other spectators._** "It seems the very adage of this school was lost on them." **_

"What do you mean?"

"_**Neither Yui nor Bakugo are going easy on the other. It would be a disservice to their opponent. Ignorants in the audience think our classmate some kind of delicate flower – when they really should know better." **_Her glare grew heavier. Before she could continue, the words rang out from the commentator booth. It seemed Aizawa shared her opinion, though he was the first to shame the public. Having a microphone certainly helped. _**"Besides… she has a plan." **_Maria's eyes closed again, satisfied with how quiet the public went.

"...man, now I feel bad." Tsuburaba mumbled. Pony seemed less convinced, still glaring daggers at the Explosion user.

"_**You are not a pro-hero yet, and you are Yui's classmate. Your worry is understandable."**_

"Wait, roll that back: what kind of plan?" Awase raised an eyebrow.

"_**The debris, of course."**_

* * *

Bakugo's giant explosions did end up helping Yui a little bit. Just a little bit.

She was absolutely at the end of her stamina though, so this was going to be a one shot only. If that didn't work, tough luck. What few pieces of debris she threw before for testing it out got annihilated in explosive bursts – but Bakugo had yet to look up.

And so, as she threw another batch of pebbles, she threw the other high up, her movements obscured by the dust cloud. Praying her fingers don't miss each other from the shakes, she let loose. The front batch was destroyed easily enough, but he couldn't suspect the ones above, right? Even if her aim was off, all she needed was for a single pebble to bonk him on the head and put him out of commission. Right? Right?!

Which was why when Bakugo's hand suddenly aimed up, without even looking at the sky, Yui's heart sank. "Nice try." One explosion later, there was nothing but harmless dust falling down on the arena. It didn't matter that she had to push him to the limit – even through the blurry vision she could see his hands shaking from exertion – if her attack did nothing.

Before she could contemplate on it, the ground gave out from under her feet and everything turned black.

* * *

The fight after proved significantly less exciting.

Monoma was out of the ring in less than a minute, his footwork insufficient to outwit the roided-up sugar rush monster that was Satou. As he was finally seized and shoved off the concrete, the blond could only be thankful his opponent didn't resort to punching his lights out instead.

He passed by Maria on his way out. "Good luck out there, Muradasilova." He said. Her opponent might not have been very dangerous, but it felt like the right thing to say. Her reaction did take him off guard however – it was a chuckle, and an almost embarrassed one as opposed to the sonorous wistfulness she normally used. She and Hatsume seemed to be good friends, so perhaps she just didn't want to be reminded that she had to take one over her?

As he made his way back to the seats, he could still make out Present Mic's heated introduction. "1B's very own Snow White! Does she even see her opponents from that up high?! Coming from the snowy Finland plains, she carried two classmates to victory during the obstacle course and then sowed fear in their hearts with frigid fastballs! Give it up for… MU-RA-DA-SI-LO-VA MARIA!"

Monoma felt at his throat on instinct. "Welcome back, Sir Monoma." Shishida greeted him with a nod. "Apologies for your loss."

"Nah, he did fine." Kamakiri pointed out with a grin. "Almost rang Mr. Diabetes out with just footsies alone."

"Dude, _Mr. Diabetes?_" Tsuburaba cast him an incredulous look. "And I thought Tetsutetsu's the king of inappropriate sayings."

"...I said I was sorry..." The Steel user grumbled from his spot. In the meantime, Present Mic continued.

"In the other corner, the rising star of the Support Course! You've seen her dodge fastballs like the best of them! Let's see if she can dodge her way to victory with her outstanding gear! Make some noise for HATSUME… MEI!"

"Hatsume doesn't seem phased in the slightest..." Reiko hummed curiously.

"She taunted Blasty McSplode right to his face." Kuroiro chuckled. "I doubt she knows what fear is."

"I guess support gear would give you some advantages..." Shoda rubbed his head in thought. "But that's not going to help for combat, right?"

"Depends what she's packing." Setsuna chimed in. "Most of her stuff was mobility-based, save for that salve for Rin."

"Guess we'll find out soon enough."

* * *

As the signal rang out, Mei's smile only widened. Maria did not rush her, taking a moment to crack her neck leftward, then rightward.

"Well then… may I have this dance?" The white marble's lips quirked in a smile of her own, watching Mei produce a bite-sized earpiece from one of her little bags.

"_**At your leisure, ma'am."**_

* * *

The moment Hatsume turned on her voice enhancer, Setsuna had to bite her hand not to burst out laughing.

"That's… a new record for audacity." Kinoko commented quietly, as taken off-guard as the lizard girl – and the two of them already had some kind of idea what Hatsume planned to do. The others? Less so.

"...is… she... making a fucking sales pitch?" A freshly returned Kaibara – despite being frozen shut in a glacier, he had barely an injury to speak of; Todoroki helping him thaw out after the fight helped – asked incredulously.

"I'm more surprised Maria is indulging her." Rin shook his head with a slight chuckle. Within the first two minutes, Hatsume demonstrated a jetpack, hover soles, a capture gun, and hydraulic bracers – in response to Maria's kick, two poles shot out from the ground, propping the Support Course student up to avoid it. It seemed she had more to show off still.

"Okay, some of this stuff is pretty cool." Awase nodded approvingly. "That capture gun feels like the kind of thing you should have already seen on every other pro, honestly."

"I can see why they wouldn't carry it though." Shishida shook his head. "Whether if it's due to Quirk limitations or plain vanity, a net like that is not always going to be effective."

"I can already see the headlines." Manga chortled. "All-Might stopping a robbery with a dinky spiderweb."

"A lot of it is pretty clunky, too. Can't imagine someone like Mt. Lady or Uwabami wanting to be caught wearing it." Kinoko hummed thoughtfully.

"Girls are weird." Yui, another freshly returned student, quipped with a furrowed brow. Kendo sitting nearby could only offer a slight chuckle.

* * *

"By sweet child of Kosm's..."

That utterance was already unsettling enough, but the way Cageface stared at the tall lady honestly just made Shigaraki's face twitch. Sensei made some very compelling arguments – and he was going to follow his instructions even if they seemed dumb – but it did not make Micolash's weird fascination with some of these bitches any less creepy.

"She's pretty~" Micolash's lackey had to join in on the commentary, of course. "First time seeing a girl this tall, and it's… it's something, I'll tell you that much." Ew.

"No small wonder, dear Himiko. This is none other than the lost relative of Her Grace Queen Annalise." Micolash nodded with a smile, attention briefly taken by some of the documents strewn on the desk. The guard continued struggling uselessly in Kurogiri's portals, some color having left his face – likely from bleeding out from the girl's thrown knife. "That would explain quite a few things."

"So what? She related somehow to that other bimbo from the USJ?"

"Not quite so – and would you please cease with this uncouth language?" This time Micolash shot him an annoyed look. Shigaraki blew a raspberry at the scholar in response, his locks currently being undone by Kurogiri. "I already told you I have no such interest in these lasses."

"Shouldn't have waltzed in here with your fucking compensated date."

"Hey, you shut your cute chapped mouth." Toga grumbled. "I'm with Mico-san for purely professional reasons, pinky promise~"

"Sure you are."

"**...please do not antagonize our allies, Shigaraki Tomura…?" **Kurogiri suggested with a resigned tone. Shigaraki, now with his wrists finally free, replied with a noncommittal grunt, rubbing his ailing hands together – and then finally putting them to his neck to ease his itchiness. **"Why is it so important, Mr. Micolash?"**

"As you know, I have been looking for the moon-touched lasses; however, I wasn't able to ascertain how did their contact with the Moon Presence came to be." The scholar gestured towards the taller of the students on screen, currently mildly inconvenienced – mostly of her own volition – by the other's deployable adhesive. "Now, Maria's presence here answers that question, and opens more exciting ones to be solved."

"And Moon Presence is…?"

"In the simplest understanding, an extraterrestrial. An alien, if you will."

"I know what that fucking word means, NPC." Shigaraki growled, his skin coming off at where he scratched at an alarming rate – not that it stopped him. "Also, bullshit. Aliens don't exist."

"Don't they now? Then how do you suppose Quirks came to be?" That stopped the scratching. Toga's attention too was had, eyebrow raised at the curious question (also, the "fight" was kinda boring, honestly). "The story of a glowing child is but a fabrication; a simple tale for simple minds to put them at ease."

"That's… okay, that's bullshit. Nothing you'll say can convince me, alright?" Shigaraki threw his hands up in exasperation. Let the NPC believe what he wanted to believe. "Riddle me this: how the fuck did you even come here?"

"Oh, just a few tricks up my sleeve." Micolash chuckled, regathering the documents and putting them on his person, hidden within the volumes of the robe. "I shall leave that to the constables to figure out. The mystery is the part of the draw, after all."

"Hey, Mico-san? What about the old man?" Toga asked again, gesturing vaguely towards the guard.

"I kept you waiting long enough. Do as you like with him." The blonde's happy "Yes!" was accompanied by a panicked groan of the guard himself. "Now then, Mr. Kurogiri shall lead you to our getaway vehicle. I shall extricate the darling Maria from her own confines and meet you there."

"Yeah, sure, you do you. And thanks. I guess."

"I'm sure you'll have the opportunity to pay me back one day. Think nothing of it." Shigaraki shrugged, putting on the mummified hands as Micolash left the room.

As it turned out, the poor bastard guard still had a lot of blood to get shanked out of him, to Toga's utter delight.

* * *

"And that… concludes my lineup of support items! If I caught your eye, support gear firms, you know where to find me~" Mei announced proudly as the battle dragged into its tenth minute. Maria was impressed – she really did make it in a single round.

"_**Satisfied, Mei?"**_ The pinkette grinned as she accepted the offered hand, the two of them headed for the edge of the stage. Though the general public might have been confused by the proceedings – upset even – it didn't seem like either of them minded it much.

"I dare say~ I wouldn't have such a positive reaction without a willing dance partner, you know."

"_**You humble me. All eyes were on you." **_Mei chuckled and twirled to be in front of Maria, her hand slipping out of the gentle grip.

"I don't know about that. Perhaps I should have enlisted someone less striking." The two exchanged bows – or rather Mei imitated Maria's, a touch slower and clumsier than the other girl. "But a deal's a deal~ See me somewhere after the festival, I'll have your baby ready for you."

"_**Much appreciated."**_ Thus, with an uncaring hop, Mei Hatsume eliminated herself from the finals.

* * *

Setsuna and Momo were both next.

The lizard girl had a rough understanding of why Maria would go so easy on Hatsume after chiding people asking Bakugo to do the same for Yui – they probably cut out a deal. The white marble would be her willing guinea pig for the world's most unexpected sales pitch, and in return the pinkette would forge her the kind of blade she was looking for.

Well, no point in going easy on Yaomomo. Setsuna too was in it to win it. "It's a battle of recommendations, listeners! In the 1A corner is the smartest girl in school! With a Quirk like that, you've gotta be! I give you… YAOYOROZU MOMO!" Judging by the determined look on Momo's face as she entered the arena, it seemed they had the same idea.

Perfect. "In the 1B corner is a girl that's all over the place, literally! She's got a firm head on her shoulders – even if it's currently floating away! Make some noise for… TOKAGE SETSUNA!" With that kind of entrance, she had to do her best, hadn't she?

The two met. Setsuna grinned, rolling her shoulders. "Loser buys coffee for two?" She called out to Momo. 1A's ace blinked and smiled impishly, undoing the top of her uniform to let more of her skin breathe – and to have more space for her Quirk's usage.

"I will have a Vienna then." She replied, letting a length of iron pipe materialize from her belly. The lizard girl's grin only grew as she craned her neck. Cheeky lip, huh? Certainly a far cry from the prim and proper Yaomomo she was familiar with. Guess the spirit of competition was back with them once again.

"Then you better work for it, Yaomomo!" Tossing her uniform's top high up for a dramatic effect, Setsuna let her arms separate in two rows of chunks each, set up like a score of attack drones.

* * *

Monoma hummed curiously, assessing the two combatants clashing.

Predictably, Tokage elected to keep her distance and use her Quirk for ranged combat. Yaoyorozu, meanwhile, armed with a pipe and a shield of her own creation, steadily advanced towards her, blocking oncoming attacks with the sheet of steel.

"Okay, so… no offense to Kodai, but is this the first fight without a clear winner?" Honenuki mused, watching the proceedings.

"None taken."

"We almost had an upset with Midoriya and Shinsou." Kendo pointed out. "But otherwise..."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Kaibara grumbled, but there wasn't any annoyance in his voice; he understood he had no chance against his opponent.

"More like a frosted liver—" Tsuburaba yelped once Kuroiro bonked him on the head again.

"Yaoyorozu can do anything, but these items take time to pull out, right?" Bondo chimed in quietly. "So Tokage-san should be able to blindside her..."

"If she doesn't take too much time taunting and teasing, that is." Monoma hummed in response, hands clasped together. "They seem to be on good terms, so she might be going easier on her without realizing it."

"Eh, don't think so." Awase shook his head. "Tokage's always trying to psyche people out when she fights. Yaoyorozu seems good with prep time, but it's hard to prep for being brained with body parts."

"And even if she can defend herself, Setsuna can avoid her attacks at the same time." Reiko said. "She could drag the fight out until the time limit or until Yaomomo-san gets impatient with her and blunders in the process."

"What happens then? They play Rock, Paper, Scissors or what?" Kamakiri rolled his eyes dismissively.

"_**The fight is decided if one side is incapacitated or rung out."**_ Maria said. **_"And to that end, Momo needs not to distinguish which part of Setsuna is rung out."_**

"...wait, but doesn't that put Tokage at a disadvantage?" Manga chimed in with a tilt of his head – then accidentally bumping the thought cloud into Pony's horn and reeling back with a yelp.

"It shouldn't. She can control every of her pieces just fine." Honenuki shook his head. "...unless, of course, she couldn't."

"Some kind of sensory overload? Or plain head trauma?" Shishida pondered. His answer was answered soon enough when the small canister Momo threw into the air exploded in a flash of blinding light. "Well, that answers that question!" He grunted, having had enough of a reaction time to close his eyes before the flashbang went off. Others were less fortunate; he could hear Kuroiro's half-screech, half-groan and Kodai's little whimper.

"_**With her senses temporarily scrambled, she will have a harder time controlling the body still on the ground. Momo can force her out of the ring with her sheer strength alone." **_Maria continued. Kinoko sitting nearby only just now realized that her eyes remained open through the entirety of the flash, not looking any worse for wear.

"She can still separate to escape, can't she?" Monoma posited, rubbing his eyes with an arm.

"_**If her desire to win is stronger than her sense of shame."**_

* * *

Setsuna was in a pinch.

Her plan of attack consisted of "find weakspot, pelt weakspot" and not much else. Yaomomo shielded hers quite well – literally so. That surely must have meant her offense would have been limited however, right?

The lizard girl thought so until the flashbang went right into her face and the world became fire. Ouch. Yaomomo really wasn't playing around, was she? Trying to coordinate with nothing but white noise in her head proved difficult, but she could already tell her body was being forced off the stage. The other girl dropped her shields to do so, her grip on Setsuna's waist surprisingly tight.

Well then. That was a problem. Her options were thus: give up the fight or separate – and risk some serious indecent exposure. Oh well. Sometimes you had to be in it to win it—

Except her waist was still in place – or rather, Yaomomo was still clutching it without budging. "I need only a single piece!" Momo called out, rushing forward even as Setsuna's chest and legs escaped from the grip. The now bare waist continued splitting into more and more pieces – but there was a limit to how small they could become, and Momo _still_ held onto one…!

"...did you glue me to your fingers?!" She asked exasperatedly, torn between being offended and impressed.

"Not for very long…!" Rather than run all the way to the edge of the arena – and risk getting kicked out herself by approaching Setsuna parts – Momo simply reeled her arm and threw; way stronger than the lizard girl expected her to. Her waist, with the dissipating adhesive's remains still plastered on it, landed harmlessly on the grass past the arena.

"...well, talk about an embarrassing loss." Setsuna mumbled as she stared blankly at her errant body part, even as Midnight announced Momo's win.

* * *

The fight between Asui and Shiozaki went in favor of the thornette.

For all of the former's agility, it seemed the literal wall of thorns proved insurmountable to Tsuyu. Ibara remained largely static, letting her hair do the fighting for her. Seized and apprehended, it was only a formality for Asui to be declared the loser.

Meanwhile, Kendo and Shoji's fight turned out to be an exciting slugfest. "Hit him in the pancreas, Kendo!" Tetsutetsu cheered as the two competitors exchanged blows in the middle of the ring. The fight was as straightforward as it could be – Shoji's range and multiple arms pitted against Itsuka's power.

"W-why the pancreas?" Rin hesitated to ask. Unfortunately, the Steel user was too caught up in his cheering to reply.

"Gotta say, I expected her to try and haul Shoji off the ring instead." Setsuna hummed. If she was miffed about her loss against Yaoyorozu, she did not show it. "But I guess he's a bit too big and fighty for that, huh?"

"That is not an adjective, Tokage." Monoma groused. "But you have the right of it."

"But isn't she fighting a losing battle here? Even with those huge hands?" Tsuburaba sighed. "Like, six arms is hard to survive when you only have two."

"Here's where the difference in approach to pro-hero work should show." Shishida replied. "Lady Kendo is an accomplished martial artist explicitly training to be a battle hero. Sir Shoji, for all of his intimidating presence, seems more geared towards rescue."

"You say that, but I'd rather fight, say, Snipe-sensei than Thirteen-sensei." Honenuki hummed. On the arena, a giant fist sent Shoji almost skidding off the concrete.

Kick him in the jewels, Itsuka! Pony was fully on-board with cheering alongside Tetsutetsu.

"Yeah, what she said!"

Emboldened – if somewhat embarrassed – by the cheering, Kendo advanced to the quarterfinals.

* * *

The very first match of the quarterfinals – Midoriya versus Todoroki – proved to be… a bit of a doozy.

"Hey, so… I might actually feel bad for Bakugo now." Awase gulped as they watched both competitors get carted off the completely totaled arena. Midoriya let loose with his Quirk, and Todoroki had to match him. The results were, uh, they were explosive.

"No kidding..." Yui mumbled. "...I hope Midoriya's okay."

"Recovery Girl can bring him back from this, I don't doubt that." Honenuki nodded. "...though, honestly? It felt like most of his damage was self-inflicted."

"It did kind of feel like he was _trying_ to lose." Tsuburaba scratched his head, looking puzzled. "Whatever he did, he got Todoroki to use his fire."

"Endeavor sure got fired up about that, too..." Setsuna hummed, watching where the Number Two Hero was just a moment ago.

"He sure did..."

"...okay, Komori, are you… okay?" Kinoko blinked, hearing the unusual gentleness in Kamakiri's voice. He wasn't the only one giving her a look – there were a few more looks cast her way, most of them concerned, and just a little spooked. "You were looking more like a mushroom cloud than anything for a moment."

"...oh. Um, sorry. I might have just been thinking too much recently..." She tried to wave it off with a sheepish laugh, but the effect seemed to have been middling at best.

"Got shroomthing on your mind?" Manga suggested.

"That was terrible, Fukidashi. To the Tsuburaba bin with you." Kuroiro grumbled, shaking his head.

"Sorry to worry you guys. I'll be fine, I promise." The mushroom girl rose from her spot. "Think I'll just go walk around for a bit. Good luck on your fight, Maria." The white marble, having been lost in thought herself, stirred slightly in her seat before nodding a silent thanks. Thus Kinoko made herself scarce.

"...it feels like there is some secret she knows and is unwilling to share." Reiko sighed, eyes trailing from Kinoko's back to the arena where Cementoss and U.A robots both fixed the arena for the next bout.

"First she tells Tokage to knock it off with the "Lil'deavor" thing, now she's looking like she's planning to ambush Endeavor with a kitchen knife..." Awase rubbed his head in thought.

"So she has a beef against Endeavor then?" Bondo suggested.

"That's kind of sudden though, isn't it? And even then she wasn't against the nickname for Todoroki earlier." Setsuna pointed out. "She even tittered when we were talking about the race strategy in class."

"Endeavor is kinda easy to hate, admittedly..." Rin sighed. "No offense to the guy, but he's not exactly cultivating a friendly image."

"I've read an op-ed the other day that talked about how popularity rankings affect hero rankings." Kaibara said. "Apparently Endeavor wouldn't even be able to cross top 20 if that was all they took into consideration."

"But they don't though. Being a pro-hero is not a beauty pageant." Kendo returned with a frown. "Like him or hate him, he works himself to the bone."

"Most solved cases, right? More than even All Might?" Pony asked quietly. Their Class Prez nodded.

"_**Ruthless efficiency over all else, including the behemoth that is public opinion."**_ Maria hummed, lips quirked in vague amusement. That didn't last however; once she rose from her seat, it was a frown instead. _**"**__**I suppose something in that particular case did not agree with Kinoko's sensibilities."**_

"Wait, where are you going? Bakugo and Satou still have to fight first."

"_**I imagine they won't be long."**_

* * *

They weren't.

They would have been even shorter if Bakugo wasn't stewing in his anger. This led him to almost being tagged by the Sugar Rush train – which did nothing to stem his fury.

Fortunately, Weird Lips had all the maneuverability of a dump truck. Deciding to make use of the Copycat's plan – and actually get it done, because Bakugo wasn't an extra coasting on other people's work – advancing to quarterfinals proved easy enough. Of course, that wasn't exactly satisfying his pride.

That scumbag Deku did _something _to get Half-n-Half to go all out. Was it something he said? Or did he somehow hit Icyhot hard enough to make him fear for his chances of winning? Didn't matter now. A logical part of Bakugo's brain said he should have been grateful to Deku for finally giving him the route to the proper fight he craved.

Of course, being grateful to Deku for _anything_ was illogical in itself, and so Bakugo was only growing angrier as a result. Whatever. _**"Curious a man who scorns his triumph so."**_ And of course, he had to pass by Sequoia on his way back to the bleachers. For a change, she didn't have to lift a finger to advance; apparently Weird Eyes had other ideas.

He cast her a withering look. _**"You will do as you like. May it carry you to the finals."**_ Honestly, he still wasn't sure if she was being encouraging or dismissive. Opting to hold words – they were lost on a weird foreigner like her – he merely flipped her off on the way back.

Maria watched him go with a slight tilt of her head. No doubt she would be seeing him in the finals unless Todoroki proved his match – but one beam of light did not an illumination make. It would no longer be a long and arduous road to fully embrace his heritage.

Midoriya seemed to have a peculiar talent for making things more difficult for himself – but his powers were also just a little too strange to pass them off as a mere Quirk. She could investigate that later. For now, it was time to see just what Momo would prepare against her…

...and if that determined look on her face would last.

* * *

_**H**__**eikkohenkiset typerät - **_Weak-minded fools

* * *

**Maria gets to grumble in Finnish! Of course, I know not a lick of the language, so I'm supplementing myself with Google Translate. Further apologies to any readers from Finland.**

**Either way, little by little, we're progressing through the finals - while Mensis spins its own plans, now with Shigaraki in tow. As always, read and review. :)**


End file.
